CNN: A man flying a jetpack was reported by pilots above Los Angeles
Sep 3, 2020, 1:52 pm
#1
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CNN: A man flying a jetpack was reported by pilots above Los Angeles
An unusual call came into the Los Angeles airport concerning an unidentified man flying a jetpack.
An American Airlines flight was the first to report a "guy in a jetpack" at the plane's' altitude of 3,000 feet above Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday.
They said that the man was approximately 30 yards away from the aircraft.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/01/us/je...rnd/index.html
An American Airlines flight was the first to report a "guy in a jetpack" at the plane's' altitude of 3,000 feet above Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday.
They said that the man was approximately 30 yards away from the aircraft.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/01/us/je...rnd/index.html
Sep 3, 2020, 6:36 pm
#3
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A few thoughts...
1. I know ATC's are cool Customers, BUT... "Roger American 1997 a man in a Jet Pack. was he on your right or your left?" Like it's a Normal Occurrence! ???
2. What [redacted due to violation of FT Rules on profanity] flies a Jetpack around a busy Intl Airport like LAX???
3. how hard is it to chase down a guy in a Jet Pack? its not like you can buy one at Walmart, and there cant be that many people who own one? Someone will drop a dime on this fool! Rt
1. I know ATC's are cool Customers, BUT... "Roger American 1997 a man in a Jet Pack. was he on your right or your left?" Like it's a Normal Occurrence! ???
2. What [redacted due to violation of FT Rules on profanity] flies a Jetpack around a busy Intl Airport like LAX???
3. how hard is it to chase down a guy in a Jet Pack? its not like you can buy one at Walmart, and there cant be that many people who own one? Someone will drop a dime on this fool! Rt
Last edited by cblaisd; Sep 3, 2020 at 9:45 pm Reason: [redacted due to violation of FT Rules on profanity]
Sep 10, 2020, 12:01 pm
#4
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My guess: An independent filmmaker shooting some footage for an upcoming film. Too cheap to secure proper permissions and/or knew they would never get permissions that close to active runways, so they decided to shoot anyway and then pay a fine if caught.
Sep 10, 2020, 12:14 pm
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To chase someone on a Jet Pack, you will have to first determine the landing location first. If properly planned, the landing can occur without anyone's noticing.
And Los Angeles is no London - not covered by CCTV everywhere.
Oct 14, 2020, 10:32 pm
#6
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Jetpack Sighted Again Above Los Angeles, This Time at 6,000 Feet
For the second time in six weeks, crew members on a commercial airliner flying near Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday found that they were sharing the skies with a person soaring solo over Southern California in a jetpack.
The latest encounter was reported to have occurred at an altitude of 6,000 feet — nearly six times the height of the Wilshire Grand Tower, the tallest building not only in Los Angeles but west of the Mississippi.
A China Airlines crew spotted the person about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday roughly seven miles northwest of the airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The agency is investigating the report.
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The latest encounter was reported to have occurred at an altitude of 6,000 feet — nearly six times the height of the Wilshire Grand Tower, the tallest building not only in Los Angeles but west of the Mississippi.
A China Airlines crew spotted the person about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday roughly seven miles northwest of the airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The agency is investigating the report.
***
Oct 15, 2020, 7:56 am
#8
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Honestly, is there any current technology that has jet packs flying at 6,000 feet? Last I knew, the fuel limits on a strap-on jet pack were measured in a few minutes at most. If it really is a jet pack at 6,000 feet, he/she'd better have a parachute.
Oct 15, 2020, 12:13 pm
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Maybe Elon has a new project.
Oct 15, 2020, 12:20 pm
#10
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And JetPack Aviation, based in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, invented what it calls “the world’s only JetPack,” which can reach up to 15,000 feet in altitude and operate for about 10 minutes. The company does not sell its jetpack, but it allows those who complete a three-week training program to operate it in a controlled space.
Oct 15, 2020, 8:08 pm
#11
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Thanks. As I suspected, ten minutes of operation. Perhaps three minutes of hover time at the very most? If you don't have a parachute, this seems to me to be one of the riskiest of activities. If that jet pack sputters, you're going to hit the ground at 140 mph.
Edited to add: The Martin Aircraft company in New Zealand claims a jetpack that goes up to 3,000 feet for 30-45 minutes - and it includes a parachute. So apparently technology is catching up.
https://phys.org/news/2016-04-high-fast-jetpacks.html
Edited to add: The Martin Aircraft company in New Zealand claims a jetpack that goes up to 3,000 feet for 30-45 minutes - and it includes a parachute. So apparently technology is catching up.
https://phys.org/news/2016-04-high-fast-jetpacks.html
Last edited by DenverBrian; Oct 15, 2020 at 8:18 pm
Oct 16, 2020, 1:13 am
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Also - oxygen is also a problem.
Is that the "Try to get yourself into prison while spending big and ridiculous" project?
Nov 2, 2021, 9:45 pm
#14
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Pictures Reveal What ‘Jet Pack Man' in Sky Near LAX Might Be — and It's Not What You'd Expect
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"One working theory is that pilots might have seen balloons," the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Federal Aviation Administration said in statements, after NBC Los Angeles obtained police video and photos that appear to show a human-shaped inflatable toy floating thousands of feet above Beverly Hills.
The crew aboard an LAPD helicopter captured the images last year, about two weeks after the second reported sighting of a jet pack a few miles further south over the Culver City or Century City areas. The inflatable appeared to be a life-sized 'Jack Skellington' - the main character in Tim Burton's 1993 movie "A Nightmare Before Christmas."
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Retired airline pilot and aviation consultant Ross Aimer said Monday the balloon images seem to fit with what the jet pilots reported.
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"One working theory is that pilots might have seen balloons," the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Federal Aviation Administration said in statements, after NBC Los Angeles obtained police video and photos that appear to show a human-shaped inflatable toy floating thousands of feet above Beverly Hills.
The crew aboard an LAPD helicopter captured the images last year, about two weeks after the second reported sighting of a jet pack a few miles further south over the Culver City or Century City areas. The inflatable appeared to be a life-sized 'Jack Skellington' - the main character in Tim Burton's 1993 movie "A Nightmare Before Christmas."
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Retired airline pilot and aviation consultant Ross Aimer said Monday the balloon images seem to fit with what the jet pilots reported.
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