A man in some sort of real life Iron Man suit has been sighted off and on for months around Los Angeles International Airport. He's become something of an urban legend in the Los Angeles aviation community. On July 28, a Boeing 747 commercial aircraft spotted Jetpack Guy at about 5,000 feet about 15 miles east of LAX. Air traffic controllers radioed pilots in the area to use caution, "Jetpack Guy is back". They asked a pilot near where he was sighted if he has seen a UFO, and the pilot responded "We were looking, but didn't see Iron Man". When pilots on approach to LAX are told to be on the lookout for Jetpack Guy, they reply "Only in LA..." It's really kind of astounding since he's been seen out over the ocean (see video below) and cruising along 5,000 feet high. While jetpacks definitely exist, the small amount of fuel they carry severely limit their range, flight duration and altitude. Whoever 'Jetpack Guy' is, he seems to have new technology that has dramatically stretched those limits. (Is that you, Elon?) Here's a video of him flying at about 3000 feet between the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Catalina Island taken from a small general aviation aircraft. [video=youtube] More https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-los-angeles-jetpack-guy-sighting https://www.latimes.com/california/...-man-in-sight-lax-air-traffic-control-reports https://abc7.com/jetpack-lax-report-flying/6398152/ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...seeing-guy-jetpack-flying-3-000-feet-n1239027 And many more news stories. Jetpack Guy has become a thing in LA.
Reported flight altitude well within what's currently achievable, but estimated minimum range/duration seems not: http://jetpackaviation.com/jetpacks/ So, possible 'high tech breakthrough' (nuclear powered engine?) = Jetpack Guy, vs good old fashioned, no black ops big budget military funding required, paranormal/supernatural/witchcraft float'n about shenanigans: I say it's high time for a to-the-death face-off! May the best person/entity win!
Here's what the FAA turned over in response to a FOIA request. They obviously aren't sure what Jetpack Guy really is. (So technically a UFO/UAP) But given that radar didn't pick him up and given that existing jetpacks aren't able to perform as well as Jetpack Guy, the FAA seems to be leaning towards the theory that Jetpack Guy is a more conventional drone with an inflatable dummy attached to it. Page 16 in particular says this: "I spoke with David Mayman, Chief Test Pilot, Jetpack Aviation, out of Van nuys, last night. He confirmed that they have not flown for months. He stated that he does not believe there are any "Jetpack" operators who could get to 3000' and sustain it." https://documents2.theblackvault.com/documents/faa/2021-000825Docs_Redacted.pdf
From that clutter filled article: FYI… Mike Bumberger, our LEAP Agent shared that the FBI interviewed the American Airlines pilot that made the jetpack sighting, and the pilot said what he saw was exactly like the drone in the Youtube video below: Initial work by ATO to identify radar returns for the jetpack came back negative, supporting the idea that whatever it was, it was not substantial enough to turn up on the unfiltered radar data. John A. Blanco Manager Aviation Safety Los Angeles Flight Standards District Office Info included in YouTube vid linked to above: Model: RC flying man (Manni Quinn) Scale: 1/1 Model Typ: Duocopter with KK 2.15 Flightboard Engine: 2x 250Kv Accu: 10S 3000mah Lipo Take-off weight: 4.85Kg Pilot and Builder: Ralph Kayser At 4:00 on the NASA logo is clearly discernible. I guess they got permission to use it! No flight performance data there but it seems someone may have been trying to implicate Jetpack Aviation as irresponsible operators, given proximity of sightings. Maybe a disgruntled former employee?
My first thought was that it was a hoax using a light weight dummy and a drone. That seems to be a theory already put forward and seems the most likely answer.
