It’s a bird, it’s an airplane … no, apparently it’s a man in a jetpack.
Dramatic video taken by an instructor from the Sling Pilot Academy shows what could be the elusive aviator whose exploits in the skies over Los Angeles have confused pilots and authorities.
The flight school pilot took the video about 1,000 feet near Palos Verdes, south of LA, with Catalina Island visible in the background, according to an Instagram post from the academy.
“The video appears to show a jetpack, but it could also be a drone or some other object,” he wrote.
“If it is a ‘man in a jetpack’ it remains to be seen whether it is a legal test flight (jetpacks are real – there is a manufacturer near Los Angeles) or related to the jetpack sightings near LAX which recently caused disruptions in air traffic, ”the school added.
The Drive reported that one of the pilots on the plane told The War Zone that they were flying between Palos Verdes and Catalina Island when they saw the apparent jetpacker flying past in the opposite direction.
There was no communication from the vessel or about its flight on the usually busy frequency used in the training area, The Drive reported.
The pilots reported the meeting with the FAA, but an official report was not filed because there were no details, the outlet said.
In late August, an American Airlines pilot approaching LAX at about 3,000 feet told an air traffic controller that he saw a solo jet setter fly by.
“Tower, American 1997, we just passed a man in a jetpack,” the Flight 1997 pilot said, according to ATC audio posted. A Skywest pilot also spotted the mystery flyer.
The FAA said the incident had been turned over to the LAPD, but police later said it had not received a report from the FAA.
Some have suggested that the aviator may have performed a dangerous social media stunt in LA’s busy airspace.