Russian Woman Accused of Sneaking onto Paris-Bound Plane From New York Set to Face Federal Charge

Svetlana Dali, whom French authorities identified as the stowaway, is expected to face at least one federal charge after she returned to the United States Wednesday, according to a statement by the FBI.

She is expected to be charged with being a stowaway on a vessel or aircraft without consent, and could face up to five years in prison. Dali is set to make her initial court appearance Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said.

The 57-year-old allegedly breached several layers of security at the Queens airport on Nov. 26 to get onto Delta Flight 264 bound for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris — but was nabbed before landing by a flight attendant as she hid in the bathroom.

An attempt to fly her back on Saturday failed when officials said she went off the rails with a disruptive outburst aboard the plane and was kicked off the flight.

She officially touched down back in the U.S. Wednesday, per CNN, which had a producer aboard the Dali’s flight back from Paris to New York who noted that she appeared calm and compliant throughout the flight.

Dali, who has legal residency in the U.S. but has a Russian passport, was reportedly escorted onto the Delta Air Lines-operated plane by two French security officials, and sat near the back of the aircraft where she was flanked by security officials on both sides. When the plane arrived at JFK, at least a dozen law enforcement officials from different agencies were standing outside the gate, and Dali remained on while all other passengers got off.

“There were multiple failures,” one law enforcement official told the outlet of the initial incident, which saw Dali sneak onto the plane on one of the busiest travel days of the year. “This was a serious breach of security,” they added.

In a statement released by Delta after the incident, the airline found “deviation from standard procedures” as “the root cause of this event.” The airline did not specify, however, how they strayed from their procedures.

“We are thoroughly addressing this matter and will continue to work closely with our regulators, law enforcement and other relevant stakeholders. Nothing is of greater importance than safety and security,” the statement read, with Delta thanking French and U.S. authorities for their help and deferred further comments to them.