FBI investigating after pilot calls in man on jet pack at LAX
The FBI is investigating after the unidentified man flew 3,000 feet in the air near airplanes at LAX
The FBI launched an investigation this month after a pilot reported spotting a “guy in jetpack” flying 3,000 feet in the air near planes at LAX.
According to The Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said agents at LAX were investigating after the pilot reported the incident to the control tower.
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“Tower, American 1997. We just passed a guy in a jet pack,” the first American Airlines pilot stated during the call.
“We just saw the guy pass us by in the jet pack,” a second pilot from Jet Blue Airways then tells the tower, which warned another pilot about the sighting.
“Only in L.A.,” the air traffic controller says at one point.
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“Two airline flight crews reported seeing what appeared to be someone in a jet pack as they were on their final approach to LAX around 6:35 p.m. Sunday,” spokesman Ian Gregor told City News Service.
The agency later confirmed in a statement, “The FBI is aware of the reports by pilots on Sunday and is working to determine what occurred.”
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A local FOX affiliate reports, “Based on research, jetpacks can fly that high but is pretty uncommon. There’s an assumption that people with the technical and financial ability to fly at this extreme height and near an airport would also understand the regulations around flying in LAX’s flight path.”
A theory has been suggested that the incident could be an internet or social media stunt according to the report.
“No one has come forward to say they were flying a jetpack, and normally the promotional or fun videos we’ve seen of them are much lower in the sky, aimed at vacationers or thrill-seekers who blast off with a pack attached to their backs for a few seconds of low-level flight,” the report continued.
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