--- title: "LA Cops Use Aircraft to Hunt Mystery Jetpack Dude" description: "Two separate mysterious sightings of a person flying a jetpack near the Los Angeles International Airport have law enforcement worried." date: "2020-10-16" modified: "2020-10-16" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/la-cops-hunt-mystery-jetpack" categories: - "Advanced Transport" tags: - "jetpack" - "la" - "los angeles" - "the digest" --- # LA Cops Use Aircraft to Hunt Mystery Jetpack Dude ![Two separate mysterious sightings of a person flying a jetpack near the Los Angeles International Airport have law enforcement worried.]() *\Image: Glenn Beltz/Victor Tangermann\* ## Mysterious Sightings On September 1, an American Airlines pilot saw [something highly unusual]() while looking outside the window at about 3,000 feet, shortly prior to landing at the Los Angeles International Airport. "Tower, American 1997, we just passed a guy in a jetpack," the bewildered pilot told LA’s tower, as [*ABC 7 News* reported]() at the time. Then, this Wednesday, China Airlines pilots made yet another strange sighting at about 6,000 feet, describing an unidentified object that looked "like a jetpack." Air traffic controllers got in touch with nearby jetliners — but other pilots saw nothing. A law enforcement aircraft immediately flew to the location where the jetpack was sighted — but found nothing, the [*LA Times* reports](). ## An Accident Waiting to Happen "The FBI is in contact with the FAA and investigating multiple reports of what, according to witnesses, appeared to be an individual in a jet pack near LAX, including one today by a China Airlines pilot," the FBI told the *LA Times* in a statement. Even jetpack manufacturers are bewildered by the news. "There are only a handful of companies working on this type of technology, and none of us have heard about anybody doing something like this," David Mayman, chief executive of the Los Angeles-based Jetpack Aviation, [told *NBC*](). "The question is, why the heck would you go fly around LAX? You need to have your head read," he added. "That’s a catastrophic accident waiting to happen." **READ MORE:** [This jetpack maker isn't so sure that's what's been spotted over the L.A. skies]() \[*NBC News*\] **More on the mystery:** *[Pilot Sees Man in Jetpack Flying Near Planes at LAX]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()