11-year-olds are resourceful. And apparently when one puts her mind to something, no one — not parents or mentors or Russian airport security — can talk her out of it.
One such 11-year-old girl in Moscow decided that it was her time to fly. She had never been on a plane before and although she lacked both ID and a ticket, she was determined to go.
The girl managed to slip by security without inspection at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow and onto a St. Petersburg-bound flight on Monday, according to Russian outlet NEWSru.com.
She "accidentally" passed through security checks with her friend and his father, after which they departed on a flight to another city, and left her in the terminal.
The girl then decided to board a Rossiya Airlines flight to St. Petersburg. She was not questioned and flight staff did not examine her papers during boarding.
After the hour-and-a-half flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg landed, the girl did not venture out of the airport to see her country's cultural capital. Instead, she wandered the arrivals terminal.
When her own family noticed that she was missing, they called her cell phone and asked where she was. When she told them she was at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, they contacted authorities who tracked her down and brought her back to Moscow.
Russian news site LifeNews reported the girl said the entire incident was "an accident," prompted by curiosity and a "hooligan" friend. However, authorities believe the girl is lying: When staff at her school was questioned, they said the 11-year-old girl has a tendency to exaggerate.
Although the girl's Home Alone-style caper was innocently prompted by a desire to fly, according to RT, it raises serious questions about Russian airport security.
Both the airline and airport are currently under investigation by Russian authorities.
The girl's mother said she plans to sue both the airline and Moscow airport for their failure to perform proper safety checks.
Vnukovo Airport did not immediately respond to request for comment.
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