zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Beyond Cars
/
Commercial Airline Pilots Report Seeing Some Dude In A Jetpack Near LAX
Commercial Airline Pilots Report Seeing Some Dude In A Jetpack Near LAX-September 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:14:00

Image for article titled Commercial Airline Pilots Report Seeing Some Dude In A Jetpack Near LAX

Generally, for most commercial airline pilots, the view out the window at around 3,000 feet can be pretty monotonous: sky, clouds, some birds, other aircraft, clouds shaped like Bullwinkle (kinda), maybe a sun or moon or two. That’s about it. But things got a lot less boring “a guy in a jetpack” on Sunday night.

Los Angeles local station Fox11 reported the story and included and the LAX control tower. Here’s the transcript:

PILOT AA1997: Tower, American 1997, we just passed a guy in a jetpack.

TOWER: Okay, thank you. Were they off to your left or right side?

PILOT AA1997: Off the left side, maybe 300 yards or so, about our altitude.

First, gotta hand it to that steely-eyed tower worker who barely batted an eye about a freaking guy in a jetpack cavorting around in the flight path of planes attempting to land at LAX.

Second, the altitude of the American flight was about 3,000 feet, which is pretty damn high for a jetpack, the few working ones that actually exist having quite small ranges.

Another pilot, believed to be with Skywest, reported seeing the rocketeer as well, and the tower issued warnings to other pilots approaching LAX.

Most existing jetpacks are simply not capable of flying that high; does have a wing-enhanced jetpack setup that could allow for this sort of thing, though it would need to be launched from another aircraft to achieve that sort of altitude, and that flight would have been known to the air traffic controllers, who would never allow a jetpack to be in the commercial flight path of planes coming into LAX.

So, as of now, this is a mystery; someone seems to have a very capable jetpack, and also seems to have not much sense, since flying it in this very busy flight path is a terrible idea and could potentially cause real trouble.

If anyone in the LA area has a neighbor who’s been building a home-made jetpack and is currently giggling a lot, maybe ask some questions. The LAPD is investigating, so you can make the call to rat them out or warn them, depending on how friendly you may be. Your call.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Beyond Cars
Honda Is Bringing Battery Exchange Stations to Japan
Honda Is Bringing Battery Exchange Stations to Japan
Honda has installed its first in Tokyo, Japan through a partnership with battery sharing service . The debut of the in Tokyo marks the beginning of what Honda hopes will be a large network of battery swapping stations in Japan, where riders can quickly and easily exchange their depleted...
Sep 15, 2026
United Pilots 'Overwhelmingly' Reject New Airline Contract
United Pilots 'Overwhelmingly' Reject New Airline Contract
The negotiations between the pilots union and the airline will continue after “overwhelmingly” rejected a tentative agreement that would have given them about a 15 percent raise over the next year and a half. reports that nearly 10,000 of United’s 14,000 pilots participated in the vote, and 94 percent...
Sep 15, 2026
Ex-F1 Team Owner Tony Fernandes Steps Down as AirAsia X CEO
Ex-F1 Team Owner Tony Fernandes Steps Down as AirAsia X CEO
The last few years have been turbulent for commercial aviation, to say the least. Along with the industry-wide upheaval sparked by the pandemic, low-cost carrier also had to deal with alongside major aircraft manufacturer Airbus. One man, Tony Fernandes, has been at the center of AirAsia’s recovery and controversy....
Sep 15, 2026
For Just $50.5 Million You Can Own a Superyacht That Sank a Gas Tanker Ship
For Just $50.5 Million You Can Own a Superyacht That Sank a Gas Tanker Ship
If you’re in the market for a , look no further than the Utopia IV. This elegant yacht can cruise at brisk 24 knots, comfortably sleeps 12 guests, with room for 13 crew members and will also survive hitting a gas tanker. The Utopia IV is for sale at...
Sep 15, 2026
We Officially Live in a Cyberpunk Dystopia
We Officially Live in a Cyberpunk Dystopia
Listen. . But consider how much worse they could be! Sure, our modern world may have the , , , and that codify the cyberpunk genre, but consider this: we don’t have a single . Oh, hang on, my producers are telling me that we in fact have a...
Sep 15, 2026
LiveWire Loses Almost $370 Million as Investors Flee, Forcing Harley-Davidson to Pick Up the Tab
LiveWire Loses Almost $370 Million as Investors Flee, Forcing Harley-Davidson to Pick Up the Tab
insisted on spinning off the brand earlier this year. The U.S. bike maker was eager to establish a separate identity for its upcoming , but it was also eager to secure funding for its new EV brand, doing so through a (SPAC) in lieu of an initial public offering...
Sep 15, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved