It’s a bird, it’s a plane … no, apparently it’s a boy with a jet pack.
The dramatic video captured by an instructor from the Sling Pilot Academy shows what could be the evasive flying feats of the sky over Los Angeles have confused pilots and authorities.
The flight school pilot took the video about 3,000 meters near Palos Verdes, south of Los Angeles, with Catalina Island visible in the background, according to an Instagram post from the academy.
“The video appears to show a jet pack, but it can also be a drone or some other object,” he wrote.
“If it’s a ‘boy with a jet pack,’ you’ll need to see if it’s a legal test flight (the jet packs are real; there’s a manufacturer near Los Angeles) or related to sightings of jet pack near LAX recently which caused disruptions to air traffic, ”the school added.
The Drive reported that one of the pilots of the plane told The War Zone that they were flying between Palos Verdes and Catalina Island when they saw the apparent jet packer walking in the opposite direction.
There was no communication from the ship or about its flight about the frequency usually used in the training area, The Drive reported.
The pilots reported the meeting with the FAA, but no official report was submitted because there were no details, according to the media.
In late August, an American Airlines pilot approaching LAX at about 3,000 feet told an air traffic controller he saw a lone jet setter passing by the shore.
“Tower, American 1997, we just passed a guy with a jet pack,” the 1997 Flight pilot said, according to the published ATC audio. A Skywest pilot also saw the mystery fly.
The FAA said the incident was handed over to the LAPD, but the police agency later said it had not received any reports from the FAA.
Some have suggested that the aviator may have been performing a dangerous trick on social media in the busy airspace of Los Angeles.