Jetpack man
{{Short description|Unidentified object observed in Los Angeles}}
{{use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
Jetpack man (also described as guy in a jetpack{{Cite web|last=Shuman|first=Phil|date=2020-08-31|title=FBI investigating pilot's report of 'guy in jetpack' flying 3,000 feet in air near planes at LAX|url=https://www.foxla.com/news/fbi-investigating-pilots-report-of-guy-in-jetpack-flying-3000-feet-in-air-near-planes-at-lax|access-date=2021-09-15|website=FOX 11|language=en-US}} and Iron Man) is an unknown person or object observed flying what appeared to be an unauthorized jetpack around the Los Angeles area at least five times from 2020 to 2022.{{Cite web|first=Richard|last=Winton|date=2020-09-01|title=Alarmed pilot tells LAX tower: 'We just passed a guy in a jet pack'; FBI now investigating|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-01/fbi-investigating-man-flying-jet-pack-near-lax-jets|access-date=2021-09-15|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Sung|first=Morgan|date=2021-07-29|title=Jetpack man is back, adding to the flying mystery over LAX|url=https://mashable.com/article/jetpack-man-fourth-sighting-lax|access-date=2021-09-15|website=Mashable|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Miranda|first=Gabriela|title=LAX air traffic controllers report another strange jetpack man sighting, warn pilots|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2021/07/30/jetpack-man-back-lax-pilots-warned-fly-caution-la/5426804001/|access-date=2021-09-15|website=USA Today|language=en-US}} Multiple airplane pilots reported seeing the jetpack man at altitudes around {{Convert|5000|feet|m}}.{{Cite web|title=Pilot reports 'possible jet pack man' near Los Angeles|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/pilot-reports-jetpack-man-los-angeles/story?id=79144890|access-date=2021-09-15|website=ABC News|language=en}}
It is unknown whether each sighting was the same person,{{Cite news|last=Cramer|first=Maria|date=2021-07-30|title='The Jetpack Guy Is Back': Los Angeles Sighting Draws an Inquiry, Again|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/30/us/jetpack-sighting-lax.html|access-date=2021-09-15|issn=0362-4331}} or whether it might have been a drone designed to look like a person with a jetpack.{{Cite web|last=Trevithick|first=Joseph|title=Airliner Pilot Says Jet Pack Guy Over Los Angeles Looked Just Like This Crazy Drone|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38802/airliner-pilot-says-jet-pack-guy-over-los-angeles-looked-just-like-this-crazy-drone|access-date=2021-09-15|website=The Drive|date=20 January 2021 |language=en}} Neither jetpacks nor large drones are commonly flown at that altitude or at that distance from land, and there were no sightings of a takeoff or landing. It was theorized by the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration that the jetpack man was a novelty helium balloon.
Sightings
=First sighting=
On August 30, 2020, two different airline pilots reported seeing a "guy in a jetpack" hovering near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) at {{Convert|3000|feet|m}}, {{Convert|300|yards|m}} from the course of planes on a {{Convert|10|miles|km}} final approach.
:{{dialogue
|a=American 1997
|sp=Skywest pilot
|a|Tower, American 1997, we just passed a guy in a jetpack... Off the left side, maybe {{Convert|300|yards|m}} or so, about our altitude.
|sp|We just saw the guy passing by us in the jetpack.}}
=Second sighting=
In November 2020, a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter crew recorded a video of what appeared to be a balloon of the fictional character Jack Skellington from the film The Nightmare Before Christmas. The video was recorded over the Beverly Hills area. A balloon is believed by many to be the explanation for the phenomenon. The behavior of the balloon was similar in the footage to the jetpack man as it was and would later be described.
The LAPD later released the footage in November 2021. The Federal Bureau of Investigation released a statement on the matter, remarking that "the FBI has worked closely with the FAA to investigate reported jet pack sightings in the Los Angeles area, none of which have been verified," and later adding that "One working theory is that pilots might have seen balloons."{{cite web |last1=Winton |first1=Richard |title=FBI floats a working theory on the 'jet pack man' flying above L.A. |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-11-02/fbi-now-has-theory-about-the-jet-pack-man-seen-flying-in-skies-above-l-a |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=3 November 2021 |date=2 November 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Yamada |first1=Haley |last2=Stone |first2=Alex |title=New theory about mysterious LAX 'jet pack man' released by police |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/theory-mysterious-lax-jet-pack-man-released-police/story?id=80926583 |website=ABC News |access-date=November 3, 2021}}
=Third sighting=
On October 14, 2020, China Airlines 006 reported seeing "a flying object like a flight suit jetpack" at {{Convert|6000|feet|m}} during the approach to LAX.{{Cite web|last1=Rogoway|first1=Tyler |last2=Trevithick |first2=Joseph|others=FAA comment reported by CNBC|title=A Guy In A Jetpack Was Spotted Again By Airliners Descending Into LAX. We Have The Audio.|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/37071/another-guy-in-a-jetpack-was-spotted-by-airliners-descending-into-lax-we-have-the-audio|access-date=2021-09-15|website=The Drive|date=October 14, 2020 |language=en}}
=Fourth sighting=
On December 21, 2020, a pilot and flight instructor with Sling Pilot Academy captured the first video of such a flying object, at around {{Convert|3000|feet|m}} near Palos Verdes and Catalina Island (south of Los Angeles).{{Cite web|last=Andrew Daniels|date=2020-12-28|title=Bizarre Video Captures L.A.'s Mysterious Jetpack Man in Flight|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a35083324/guy-in-jetpack-los-angeles-video-footage/|access-date=2021-09-15|website=Popular Mechanics|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=December 22, 2020|title=Jetpack Man: Does He Exist?|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CJHqWoeBiLr/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/CJHqWoeBiLr |archive-date=2021-12-24 |url-access=limited|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-15|website=www.instagram.com|publisher=Sling Pilot Academy}}{{cbignore}} The academy posted the video to their Instagram account, commenting:
The video appears to show a jet pack, but it could also be a drone or some other object. If it is a 'guy in a jet pack' then it remains to be seen whether it is a legal test flight... or related to the jet pack sightings near LAX recently that caused disruptions to air traffic.
=Fifth sighting=
On July 28, 2021, a pilot reported seeing a flying object that looked like a man in a jetpack, roughly {{Convert|15|miles|km}} off the California coast, at {{Convert|5000|feet|m}}.{{Cite web|last=Silver|first=Stephen|date=2021-08-02|title=The Jetpack Man Has Been Spotted Again in Los Angeles|url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/jetpack-man-has-been-spotted-again-los-angeles-190953|access-date=2021-09-15|website=The National Interest|language=en}} In air traffic control chatter, the flying object was referred to variously as "the UFO" and "Iron Man".{{Cite web|last=Rogoway|first=Tyler|others=Audio recording by ATCLive.net|title=Jetpack Man Spotted Again By Pilots On Approach To LAX Nearly A Year After First Sighting|url=https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/41742/jetpack-man-spotted-yet-again-by-pilots-on-approach-to-los-angeles-international-airport|access-date=2021-09-15|website=The Drive|date=29 July 2021 |language=en}}
:{{dialogue
|sp=747 pilot
|lax=LAX Tower
|stp=Skywest 3626 pilot
|sp|Possible jetpack man in sight... about 5000 ...
|lax|Skywest 3626, did you see the... did you see the UFO?
|stp|We were looking but we did not see Iron Man.
|lax|Attention, all aircraft, use caution for the jetpack. He is just north of the final, around 5000 at Gate C, last reported [...]
|sp|Where'd you say Iron Man was flying around again?
|lax|Around 5000, reported by a heavy 74 on a 15-mile final.}}
=Sixth sighting=
A sixth sighting of jetpack man occurred in June 2022 15 miles east of LAX at about {{cvt|4500|ft}}.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-24 |title=Person flying jet pack spotted near LAX, pilot claims; FAA investigating |url=https://abc7.com/lax-jetpack-pilot-drone/11991998/ |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=ABC7 Los Angeles |language=en}}