Stowaway looks to jettison conviction for sneaking onto Paris-bound plane

A Second Circuit panel heard arguments Wednesday from Svetlana Dali, convicted of stowing away on a 2024 Delta flight from New York to Paris by hiding in the lavatory for nearly the entire red-eye. Dali argues jurors should have heard evidence that she believed the U.S. government was poisoning her, which she says explains behavior prosecutors called deliberate deception rather than proving criminal intent.

Her attorney insists this differs from an insanity defense, which Dali declined to raise at trial. Prosecutors counter that this distinction is a strategic dodge around stricter legal scrutiny, and that the evidence against Dali, including her own trial testimony that she simply walked onto the plane, was overwhelming regardless.

Dali was sentenced to time served, but was arrested again in February for allegedly sneaking onto a flight to Milan, where she is believed to remain. The panel did not rule immediately.

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