Entertainment

Chrissy Teigen’s Plane Saga Just Got More Serious Than You Probably Expected

Charley Gallay/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images; Chrissy Teigen/Twitter

The Legend family may have finally made it Tokyo, but updates about Chrissy Teigen's flight situation show there might not be such a happy ending for other passengers involved. ABC News reported on Thursday that the FBI is weighing criminal charges against two brothers who allegedly boarded the flight with one boarding pass, forcing the plane to make a U-turn mid-trip.

Law enforcement officials told the outlet that the brothers went through security at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday with legitimate tickets, but were booked on separate flights to Tokyo. One reportedly had a ticket for the All Nippon Airways flight — on which Teigen and her husband, John Legend, were also passengers — while the other was booked on a United Airlines plane scheduled for a different time. The brothers, who reportedly have nearly identical names, were somehow able to board the ANA flight together using a duplicate pass, sources claimed to ABC.

It's unclear how the brother with a United Airlines ticket found a seat, but the airline crew apparently didn't become aware of what had happened until four hours into the flight, at which point they decided to turn around and head back to Los Angeles. When the plane landed, the brothers were reportedly interviewed by authorities and then released. Per ABC, there's no indication that anyone was in danger, and the brothers' identities have not been disclosed, other than that they are both male American citizens. ANA released the following statement to the publication:

"During the flight, the cabin crew became aware that one of the passengers boarded the incorrect flight and notified the pilot. As part of the airline’s security procedure, the pilot in command decided to return to the originating airport, where the passenger was disembarked. ANA is researching the situation currently to determine how the passenger boarded the flight."

According to TMZ, ANA also reportedly gave passengers 30,000 yen as an apology, which comes out to about $265 American dollars. Teigen noted on Twitter that "everyone on the ground and in the air were very kind and apologetic," but that she simply wanted to know why they couldn't have settled the matter in Tokyo, rather than disrupting everyone else's plans due to one person's mistake.

For those still catching up on the days-long saga, the story began on Tuesday, when Teigen began documenting the incident on social media. She wrote that she was supposed to be on an 11-hour flight to Tokyo, but that just over four hours into their travel time, a passenger discovered they were on the wrong flight and informed crew members.

Instead of continuing on their trip to Tokyo, they decided to head back to Los Angeles, meaning that Teigen and the rest of the flight's passengers had spent eight hours on a plane to nowhere (which, as Teigen soon realized, was exactly what she did for her recent Pan Am-themed birthday party). She went on to say that she was interviewed by police regarding the matter, then moved to a lounge with ramen and Real Housewives. Eventually, she and Legend got on another flight, and by Wednesday afternoon, had finally made it to Japan.

Despite the inconvenience, Teigen — who, by the way, is currently pregnant with her second child — was a good sport about her much longer than anticipated journey. She turned the whole scenario into a hilariously riveting tale, and her tweets promptly went viral.

For most, it was an entertaining way to bide the news-light slump between Christmas and New Years, but for the two brothers, it may have bigger, more serious consequences. It's unclear whether the incident was an honest mistake or an intentional scheme, but stay tuned for more updates.