FBI investigating 2nd sighting of person on jet pack at LAX
A China Airlines crew reportedly spotted the person flying on a jet pack at about a 6,000-foot altitude.
A second sighting of a person wearing a jet pack in the flight path at Los Angeles International Airport is prompting an investigation by federal officials.
The individual was reported after a China Airlines crew spotted the person at around 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, reportedly flying around seven miles northeast of LAX at about a 6,000-foot altitude.
The sighting was reported to the Federal Aviation Administration, which alerted law enforcement and the FBI.
The first incident occurred on August 30, when an American Airlines pilot spotted a man in a jet pack.
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“Tower, American 1997. We just passed a guy in a jet pack,” an American Airlines pilot stated in a call to the control tower, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“American 1997, OK, thank you. Were they off to your left or right side?” the tower operator asked.
Another pilot from Jet Blue Airways also reported the August sighting, which prompted an air traffic controller to remark, “Only in L.A.”
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Federal officials have not said if the first individual had been tracked down, nor have they released details into Wednesday’s incident or said if the two sightings are thought to involve the same person.
Experts have expressed doubts about the seriousness or danger of the jet pack incidents. David Mayman, CEO of the L.A.-based JetPack Aviation, told CBS News a real jet pack uses a lot of fuel and is typically noisy.
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“People would have heard it take off and land,” he said.
Jet packs are not equipped to fly for more than a few minutes or to go very high. A pilot in Dubai did reach an elevation of 6,000 feet but required a parachute to land. No parachutes were sighted in the two incidents in Los Angeles.
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