A person has been spotted flying around Los Angeles again today. On August 30, an air traffic controller completed a mandatory occurrence report that shows a pilot said a person was flying near his commercial aircraft. It appears a similar situation occurred today at roughly 1:45 pm local time.
In the August incident, the cockpit crew of American Airlines flight 1997 reported “passing a ‘guy in a jetpack’ off his left side, about 300 yards.” This incident happened about 10 miles away from the 25L runway at Los Angeles LAX International Airport in restricted airspace. The report added that the pilot didn’t need to take evasive maneuvers to avoid him and there were no injuries. Flight 1997 went onto land without incident.
A second pilot that afternoon reported seeing a person flying about 3,000 feet above the ground at about 10 miles from the airport.
Today, a China Airlines crew reported seeing a person flying around at about 6,000 feet roughly 7 miles northwest of the airport at 1:45 pm today.
The FAA said it alerted local law enforcement agencies and are investigating the report.
“The FBI is in contact with the FAA and is investigating multiple reports of what, according to witnesses, appeared to be an individual in a jetpack near LAX, including one today reported by a China Airlines crew,” FBI Los Angeles Field Office spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said today.
There are theories that it is a person flying a jetpack or a drone carrying a mannikin. Until the FBI or FAA can clarify what or who is flying in Los Angeles airspace, the questions will remain. It is clear that a person or an object in the shape in a person is indeed flying; it is extremely unlikely that this is a weather phenomena creating an optical illusion. If anyone had additional information that would be helpful to the investigators, they are encouraged to contact the Los Angeles Police Department or their local FBI office.
