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Airline Pilots Landing At LAX Report "A Guy In Jetpack" Flying Alongside Them

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As if 2020 couldn't get any weirder, airline pilots landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Sunday, August 30th, reported seeing "a guy in a jetpack" flying about 300 yards off their wing while on final approach to the bustling airport. What makes the reports even stranger is that, like a scene out of The Rocketeer, the airliners were descending through 3,000 feet when jetpack guy showed up next to them. Fox 11 broke the story and has the air traffic control audio… (www.thedrive.com) More...

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FrankHarvey
Frank Harvey 30
Would you need an N-number to talk to ATC ? What are Landing Fees for an Individual at LAX ? What is Wake Turbulence Separation for an Individual and a Heavy/A380 ? Is the actual Body of the Individual considered to be the Fuselage/Airframe under Part 43 (or 91 ?) and if so would the Body require a 100 hour check ? How would the check-ride be conducted ? Inquiring minds would like to know.
jbsimms
James Simms 6
If it’s Raquel Welch, I’ll be happy to give the 100 hour fuselage check even @ it’s advanced age & give it a check ride.
tranderson2
Tommy Boy 2
Eeeeewwww!!! Isn't she an 80 year old lady now?
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 7
Tommy, Tommy, Tommy - even old ladies can have allure. Shame on you.
bayoujetta
bayoujetta 2
Love it!
TorstenHoff
Torsten Hoff 10
https://siamagazin.com/spectacular-rc-flying-man-in-scale-11-flight-demonstration/

Just sayin’...
jbermo
jbermo 3
Yea - that's probably it. . . . and I want one!

airuphere
airuphere 3
This looks like the most probable explanation.
crchall
Chuck Chall 1
I don't think the operator could see it at 3000ft. I fly unlimited class RC sailplanes in the 14 to 16 ft wingspan size and they are mighty small at 3000. And, yes, I do have telemetry.
jptq63
jptq63 1
Wonder if the FAA will make a few phone calls and see whom may have been sold some kits? I.e. given a short quick glance my initial estimate would be a jet back (like reported) and guessing given a limited number of possible similar kits made / sold (?) drones of any type entering class B (or C, D) airspace that could endanger aircraft not welcomed.
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
By looking at it.. I would say it is more of a Hope Built Design.... and the parts he would have ordered, thousands and thousands sold everyday.. and he has probably been working on it for months. Being in RC, that is not an over night project or something you buy in a store....
TorstenHoff
Torsten Hoff 1
It’s still far more likely than a newcomer to the jetpack game designing and building something that’s capable of lifting a man thousands of feet into the air, remaining controllable and not crashing. He’d also have to take off and land in secrecy in some open space in the flight corridor for LAX — the noise would have attracted lots of unwanted attention.

The hydrogen-peroxide (steam) powered jetpacks are only capable of very short flights. Those using jet turbines have far more performance and endurance, but the cost of the turbines themselves puts them out of reach of casual garage tinkerers.
sparkie624
sparkie624 0
Being an RC Pilot.... That looks like it would be fun to fly around my Neighborhood... :)
serdyfsx12
JOE SERDYNSKI -9
Amazing how the German political system stymies innovation ! ! !
dee9bee
dee9bee 11
It happened in SoCal, need I say more? (Disclaimer, I grew up there) I'm thinking some sort of 'dummy, think of "Otto" in the movie "Airplane". Last but not least, the Pilots couldn't have had much more than a second while passing by for their minds to process what they were seeing.
MrTommy
MrTommy 4
Did the guy have the customary "Red Bull" logo on his pack?
jbsimms
James Simms 4
Could be a Breitling sponsor
f4fntm
john doe 1
I thought it was the obligatory "Monster" logo.
patpylot
patrick baker 4
does any flying suit have enough fuel to be seen by three jets in landing sequence, one right after another?
m3lightning
m3lightning 3
I think some of them have flight times of up to ~10 minutes. LAX has 4 runways and simultaneous parallel approaches can be common. I believe only 2 aircraft confirmed seeing the jetpack guy. So, yeah, definitely possible.
pthompso99
The world is going nuts. But, I appreciate your reply. One other question. How much does one of these gizmos cost? What kind of fuel does it use? (Years and years ago, in my occasional trips from Oak Ridge to Knoxville, I would take a back road, because I could buy the cheapest gas at Rocket Fuel. It was $00.23/gallon. (Well, thus was a long time ago.)
pthompso99
Yes, I wonder about that too.
bobsfolkart
Bob Jordan 3
so it appears I've picked a lousy time to give up dropping acid....
ADXbear
ADXbear 3
Was he on the ILS, or a traffic reporter?.

Lol
azaxman
Dan Alexander 3
I find it amazing that there is not 1 pic or video of this jetpack. In this era of everyone holding their phone 24/7 I find it hard to believe not ONE window passenger captured an image. I am NOT discounting the story. After 40 years as an ATC guy I have heard plenty of odd reports. BTW: Retirement rocks!
WhiteKnight77
WhiteKnight77 4
People doing stupid things is not new. That he didn't play the part of a bug on a windshield or become mincemeat is remarkable.
steerts
I'm sorry, but this was probably the most entertainment the passengers have had in a long time. Your sour grapes are showing, WK77. The jet pack driver is my hero.
f4fntm
john doe 2
Remember that when you're riding in the heavily-laden 737 that ingests one of these at 200' during takeoff.
pthompso99
Talk to Sully Sullenberger.
WhiteKnight77
WhiteKnight77 2
Not everything goes that way. We see the aftermath here quite often sadly. Sully did an amazing job, and at least the river was there. It would have been an entirely different story without it.
pthompso99
Yes, you are so correct.
jws35
jws35 2
Anyone remember the guy in a lawn chair, with balloons from over 20 years ago ?
Southwest reported it and mentioned "and he has a gun"
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 2
It probably is Amazon's new drone delivery.
wtwisniewski
wtwisniewski 2
I can't wait to read his NASA ASRS report!
GaAubie
Ken Hardy 2
Jet pack guy at 3000 ft., I don't think so, even folks in Southern Cal aren't that stupid with a death wish. At best it was a RC drone of some configuration
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
"aren't that stupid" - Wanna Bet!
sparkie624
sparkie624 5
Idiots born everyday.... and they breed!
williambaker08
william baker 7
I was bored. What can I say. LOL
dtgriscom
Bored of flying, or bored of breeding?
lynx318
lynx318 1
That should be bored of breathing!
williambaker08
william baker -4
Bored because your mother did give me any last night. Now stop with the sexual remarks this isnt the place for that.
JetChaser
JetChaser 3
Does Harrison Ford have an alibi?
paulgilpin1953
paul gilpin 4
there is definitely a generational gap here.
all the comments about tony stark.
when i first read the headline my thoughts went to "does he look like sean connery?"
pthompso99
Or, did he look like Flash Gordon?
speedbird9
Marty Martino 2
Not Flash Gordon. It must obviously be the Rocketeer.
jbsimms
James Simms 3
That was a decent movie
user3956
user3956 2
It really was, it's one of my favorites. It's great to watch every few years or so - never gets old. Been watching it since I was a teenager and I'd been wondering just how long it would be before jet packs were a thing...maybe the technology is finally coming of age?
jptq63
jptq63 3
Might be wrong on this, but think a Mode C transponder, radio, and some lights would be needed to help make the flight legal (if it could be...)? Scary to think about what might happen if the person got ingested by an engine....
Moviela
Ric Wernicke 12
He wouldn't have the guts to do it again.
sparkie624
sparkie624 2
Don't count on it.... Most idiots don't learn the first time!
lynx318
lynx318 5
I think Ric meant after going through an engine he wouldn't have ANY guts!
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
LOL... Good point....
sparkie624
sparkie624 10
I guess he would be classified as FOD at that point.. LOL
blheadley
Bruce Headley 2
I am not buying it just yet. Consider the possibility of a light weight styrofoam dummy possibly supplemented with helium lift, either one dressed up to look like a man flying a jet pack. And being lifted and controlled by a drone or drone mechanism built into it. That is dangerously close to Hollywood where there are a lot of people with the "skills" to do a realistic light weight costume. I will withdraw this comment if one of the pilots says there was flame coming out of the jet pack.
alan75035
alan75035 1
Well, Tony Stark does live just up the coast...
richardorgill
. Southern Calif said is all another Balloon man in flight. I wonder whatever happened to that idiot I know he got a hefty fine for that one.
eji74
eji74 0
He has since passed on.
Mmeyers7167
The operators video will show up on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc... in a day or so.
airuphere
airuphere 1
Maybe an Area 51 test pilot dropped his maps... if France is developing a military version - the US must be as well... ?? Weird.
crayanderson
C Anderson 1
Completely inadvertent flight. The guy pressed “Start” and the next thing he knew he was on final al LAX (though apparently left of glide slope and out of sequence). Hey, stuff happens.
Viperguy46
Jesse Carroll 1
WOW, the first midair collision is going to be messy!
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
To put it the way an Englishman would say it.... "It would be a Bloody Mess"
watkinssusan
i think everyone wishes they had a "jetpack" and a flying suit to get around these days!
lynx318
lynx318 1
Maybe he was trying to hitch a ride out of the US without going through the airport?
liko2k
Jakub Bialek 1
Yup. Ironman is real.
user3956
user3956 2
Rocketeer
godoe
erik godo 1
Since it is in LA, they were probably filming a stunt. Took them two planes to get the shot. James Bond?
godoe
erik godo 1
And it probably was a dummy-drone.
reinzi
reinzi -1
Pilots should not take drugs during flight
paulgilpin1953
paul gilpin -1
the plane was obviously empty.
with all the videos captured by phones present day, this is sort of like a big foot sighting.
sparkie624
sparkie624 2
Maybe they just had overly compliant passengers who actually listened to the Flight Attendant and really turned them off... But then again...
pthompso99
Well, I just bought BigFoot socks for my brother. So this all just fits in with weird world.

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