Revealed: Security scare on Tokyo jet carrying Chrissy Teigen was caused by young man who boarded the WRONG plane forcing pilot to return to LAX FOUR HOURS into the journey

  • All Nippon Airways flight 175 was diverted back to Los Angeles four hours into its journey to Tokyo because a passenger boarded the wrong flight
  • Chrissy Teigen was on the flight with her husband John Legend and tweeted about the incident upon being told the plane was returning to LAX
  • It is not known when the airline learned about the male passenger, but the plane would have had to fly for eight hours before it could safely land to burn off fuel
  • The FBI is now investigating the incident but no arrests have been made at this time 
  • Passengers were forced to deplane and at 3:30am the same aircraft took off for a second time bound for Tokyo 
  • The flight is now scheduled to land at Narita International Airport at 7:07am local time 

Federal authorities are investigating how an unticketed passenger was able to board a flight in Los Angeles bound for Tokyo after the plane which was carrying 150 passengers including Chrissy Teigen and John Legend was forced to turn around mid-flight on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old model and her singer husband were passengers on All Nippon Airways flight 175, which took off from LAX at 11:30am and then arrived back at the terminal at 7:30pm when the pilot made the decision to turn the plane around due to a security breach.

That breach was a male passenger who at first was thought to be a stowaway but was later revealed to have boarded the wrong flight.

'The cabin crew notified the pilot that one of the passengers boarded the incorrect flight, and the pilot in  command made the decision to return to the originating airport,' ANA told DailyMail.com in a statement.

'We take great pride providing exemplary customer service, and on this flight we failed to do so.'

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department said that the incident was 'not a security issue.' 

Scroll down for video

Turnaround: All Nippon Airways flight 175 was diverted back to Los Angeles four hours into its journey to Tokyo because a passenger boarded the wrong flight (flight path above)

Turnaround: All Nippon Airways flight 175 was diverted back to Los Angeles four hours into its journey to Tokyo because a passenger boarded the wrong flight (flight path above)

Nightmare: Chrissy and John's Tokyo-bound flight from LAX was forced to turn around four hours into its journey on Tuesday, after an 'unauthorised person' made it onto the plane
Nightmare: Chrissy and John's Tokyo-bound flight from LAX was forced to turn around four hours into its journey on Tuesday, after an 'unauthorised person' made it onto the plane

Fly the friendly skies: Chrissy Teigen was on the flight with her husband John Legend (above) and tweeted about the incident upon being told the plane was returning to LAX 

Questioning: Police officers spoke with passengers after the flight landed back at LAX Tuesday evening (above)

Questioning: Police officers spoke with passengers after the flight landed back at LAX Tuesday evening (above)

Change in pattern: It is not known when the airline learned about the passenger, but the plane would have had to fly for eight hours before it could safely land to burn off fuel (planned path in black, actual path in blue)

Change in pattern: It is not known when the airline learned about the passenger, but the plane would have had to fly for eight hours before it could safely land to burn off fuel (planned path in black, actual path in blue)

It remains unclear however when airline employees discovered that the passenger had boarded the wrong aircraft.

A look at the planned route for the aircraft versus its actual flight pattern shows that the plane veered off course roughly an hour into the journey, staying close to the coast of California rather than heading out into the Atlantic.  

ANA FLIGHT 175 

Dec. 26, 11:36am: Flight takes off from Los Angeles International Airport bound for Tokyo

12pm: Flight veers off course and stays closer to the coast of California rather than heading out into the Pacific

3:20pm: Passengers are informed that the flight will be diverting back to LAX because a passenger on the trip was not supposed to be on flight

3:30pm: Plane begins the process of turning back towards LAX

5:15pm: Flight drops from its cruising altitude of 40,000 feet to 20,000 feet 

7:32pm: ANA Flight 175 lands at LAX and taxis to a secure location.

8:32pm: Passengers are taken off the plane and put in buses to return to the terminal after speaking with police and federal agents. 

Dec. 27, 1:30am: Passengers board the same plane for a second time.

3:32am: ANA Flight 175 takes off for Tokyo 16 hours after it first left LAX on Tuesday. 

The plane would have been forced to fly for at least eight hours before it could land again safely at LAX due to the fact that it was carrying enough fuel for an 11-hour journey.

Passengers were not told of the situation however until just before the plane was diverted back to LAX according to Teigen, who tweeted: 'a flying first for me: 4 hours into an 11 hour flight and we are turning around because we have a passenger who isn’t supposed to be on this plane. Why...why do we all gotta go back, I do not know.'

She went on to write that she and the other passengers were informed as they returned to Los Angeles that all passengers would be forced to deplane, but were given little information about what caused the problem.

'They keep saying the person had a United ticket. We are on ANA. So basically the boarding pass scanner is just a beedoop machine that makes beedoop noises that register to nowhere,' tweeted Teigen as her plane made its way back to LAX on Tuesday.

Once the aircraft landed, it was brought to a secure area and passengers were questioned by authorities.

'There is a 20 minute interview before we can get off the plane!! This is my dream. Police! Talk to me talk to me,' wrote Teigen.

The passengers were held on the plane for over an hour while police and federal agents investigated the incident and eventually taken by buses back to the main terminal, were they had been earlier that morning.

'Police were interviewing all the people seated around the mystery person once we got off the plane. Why would they do this! I MUST KNOW MORE,' wrote Teigen.

Back to the start: That breach was a male passenger who at first was thought to be a stowaway but was later revealed to have boarded the wrong flight

Back to the start: That breach was a male passenger who at first was thought to be a stowaway but was later revealed to have boarded the wrong flight

Chrissy Teigen tweeted the entire debacle of a flight that took off for LAX bound for Tokyo, but had to be turned around four hours into the trip for an unauthorized passenger on board

Chrissy Teigen tweeted the entire debacle of a flight that took off for LAX bound for Tokyo, but had to be turned around four hours into the trip for an unauthorized passenger on board

What a trip: LAX to LAX and it only took eight hours to complete, per Teigen 

What a trip: LAX to LAX and it only took eight hours to complete, per Teigen 

'This is my dream': The nightmare journey did not end once the flight landed at LAX because passengers would be interviewed for 20 minutes by police before they deplaned

'This is my dream': The nightmare journey did not end once the flight landed at LAX because passengers would be interviewed for 20 minutes by police before they deplaned

Police continued to question people seated in the area of the passenger in question- but they may have been just trying to get to the bottom of how this costly mix-up happened in the first place

Police continued to question people seated in the area of the passenger in question- but they may have been just trying to get to the bottom of how this costly mix-up happened in the first place

She and Legend were put in an airport lounge while waiting for the same flight to refuel, while most passengers were kept in the main boarding area and then taken to an airport hotel.

Devin McIntire shared photos of police on the plane, a flight attendant informing a passenger about the situation, and the scene outside the terminal as he and others waited for buses to take them to the hotel.

'Flight NH175 couldn't complete the journey because @FlyANA_official let the wrong person on the plane,' he tweeted, calling the situation 'seriously sad.' 

He later tweeted: 'Waiting for the supposed hotel bus... Flight #NH175 keeps getting better... @ChrissyTeigen maybe you got somewhere better to hang?'

No sooner had some passengers arrived at the hotel however than the flight was ready to head out once again on its intended journey.

Another passenger on the flight, Marie Lum, also expressed her annoyance at the situation, tweeting: 'We're all currently just sitting here waiting for the airline to tell us what we're going to do. We should have just kept going, this entire situation is so bogus. The whole plane has to take the weight for this one guy??? How in the world.'

She went on to write that passengers were given an option as to how they wished to be compensated for the inconvenience. 

'Now we have the choice to get a $200 voucher for shopping at the airport or we can go to a hotel and be reimbursed through our receipt,' she wrote on Twitter. 

'Some people straight up canceled their flight, they don't want to fly ANA anymore and they rescheduled on a different airline. Probably smart tbh lol.'

She later revealed that the second flight was delayed as well, with the passengers again forced to stand around and wait. 

Lum also claimed that while she and other passengers received $200 vouchers, the individual who boarded the wrong flight got a $500 voucher. 

Teigen shared photos as she and Legend got back on the plane in the early hours of Wednesday morning before taking off again at 3:30am for Tokyo.

Three hours into that second flight there have been no major issues, though Teigen did reveal that stuffed Yodas were in some of the seats on the plane and the Star Wars theme was playing in the bathroom of the aircraft when she got back on board.

All Nippon Airways has multiple Star Wars-themed aircrafts in its fleet. 

In her last tweet before her second takeoff, Teigen tweeted: 'Taking off!!! Please don’t be the same menu please don’t be the same menu.' 

The flight is now scheduled to land at Narita International Airport at 7:07am local time. 

 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

What's This?

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.