By: Josh K. Elliott
https://muckrack.com/josh-elliott-2
A rocket man is burning up air traffic controllers once again at Los Angeles International Airport, after another flight crew reported a close encounter with an unidentified flying individual in a jetpack.
The encounter happened around 1:45 p.m. local time on Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says. It’s the second time a man in a jetpack has been reported near the airport in six weeks.
>>“A China Airlines crew reported seeing what appeared to be someone in a jetpack at an approximate altitude of 6,000 feet, about seven miles northwest of Los Angeles International Airport,” the FAA said in a statement to CNN.
Air traffic radio recordings captured the China Airlines crew reporting the incident.
>>“We just saw a flying object, like a flight suit jetpack, went by us,” the pilot tells the LAX tower in the recording obtained by Fox 11.
The flight controller responds by trying to clarify whether it was a man with a jetpack or simply a drone.
>>“A jetpack,” the pilot says. “Too shiny. Too fast.”
The tower then dispatched a nearby security officer to check for the jetpack, but nothing was found.
>>“Attention all craft: Use caution,” the air traffic controller said. “A jetpack rocket man has been reported.”
The latest sighting only adds to a still-unsolved incident from late August, when two separate flight crews reported seeing a man fly past them at an altitude of 3,000 feet.
>>“We just passed a guy in a jetpack,” an American Airlines pilot told air traffic control at the time.
A SkyWest Airlines pilot also reported seeing the mysterious figure a few moments later.
>>“We just saw the guy passing by us in the jetpack,” the pilot told the tower.
>>“Only in L.A.,” added a third pilot.
The August sightings were reported east of the airport, while the latest one was reported to the northwest.
Federal authorities have banned the use of drones near airports, as the technology has become cheap enough for amateur pranksters and explorers to venture into flight paths.
Jetpack technology remains finnicky and expensive, though some designs have been proven to carry people thousands of feet up into the air.
The FAA and police are investigating both incidents.
Iron Man, Boba Fett and the Rocketeer could not be reached for comment.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7398636/jetpack-lax-airport-pilot/