The infamous Jetpack Man of Los Angeles has been sighted again, this time by a pilot of a Boeing 747 flying east of Los Angeles. An object resembling a jetpack was seen 15 miles east of LAX at an altitude of 5,000 feet. The sighting prompted air traffic control to issue a warning to pilots in the area, telling them “the jet man is back.”
The LA Jetpack Man returns
After a series of mysterious sightings over the past year, the ‘Jetpack Man’ of Los Angeles was spotted again on Wednesday evening. A pilot flying east of Los Angeles onboard a Boeing 747 made the sighting, causing air traffic controllers to broadcast a warning to other pilots.
In a statement, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said,
“A Boeing 747 pilot reported seeing an object that might have resembled a jet pack 15 miles east of LAX at 5,000 feet altitude. Out of an abundance of caution, air traffic controllers alerted other pilots in the vicinity.”
ATC issues a warning to pilots
Given the risk of having an unidentified jetpack flying around, air traffic controllers were quick to broadcast a warning to other pilots in the vicinity. CBS News obtained audio recordings of the warning:
ATC: Skywest 3626, use caution. The jet man is back; let me know if you see him.
ATC: Skywest 3626, did you see the UFO?
Pilot: We were looking, but we did not see Iron Man.
After a series of sightings last year, the FBI and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) opened up an official investigation. The FBI concluded that the Jetpack Man is highly unlikely to be an actual person. The prevailing theory is that the jetpack is a drone operated remotely.
David Mayman, CEO of Jetpack Aviation, agrees that Jetpack Man is unlikely to be a person. Mayman said, “it’s very, very unlikely with the existing technology,” before adding, “they’d run out of fuel; they use fuel too quickly.”
First sightings since last year
Wednesday’s sighting is the first in several months after a series of highly-publicized sightings last year. Throughout the tail-end of 2020, Jetpack Man was spotted multiple times in the Los Angeles area.
In September, multiple pilots reported seeing a jetpack upon approach to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at an altitude of 3,000 feet. Around six weeks later, China Airlines crew also reported a jetpack-like object flying around, this time at 6,000 feet.
Before Wednesday’s sighting, the most recent sighting of Jetpack Man was back in December 2020. On this occasion, a flight instructor at Sling Pilot Academy spotted the mysterious flying object during a lesson off the coast of Palos Verdes, near Los Angeles. The instructor managed to film the incident, which can be seen below.
After a long hiatus, it appears the Jetpack Man is back. Pilots in the Los Angeles area should keep their eyes peeled.
Do you think Jetpack Man is a real person or a drone? Who do you think built and operated the jetpack? Let us know your theories in the comments.
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