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'Only in LA'; Pilots report seeing person flying jetpack near LAX

Posted at 3:07 PM, Sep 01, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-01 15:07:25-04

Pilots coming into LAX airport in the Los Angeles area on Sunday reported something that sounded right out of a movie from nearby Hollywood. A person flying in a jetpack.

Audio from LiveATC.netand shared by several local media show crews on both Southwest Airlines and American Airlines flights saw the person.

Pilot: “Tower, American 1997, we just passed a guy in a jetpack”

Tower: “American 1997, OK, thank you, were they to your left side or right side?”

Pilot: “Off the left side at ah maybe 300-ah-300 yards or so, about our altitude”

Tower: “OK American 1997”

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Tower: “Southwest 6046”

Southwest Pilot: “Tower, we just saw the guy pass by us”

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Tower: “JetBlue 23 please caution a person with a jetpack reported 300 yards south of the LA final at about 3000 feet”

Pilot: “JetBlue 23 we heard and are definitely looking”

Tower: “Only in LA”

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For reference, the tallest building in the US, One World Trade Center in New York, is 1,776 feet tall. The average altitude for skydiving in this country is about 10,000 feet in the air. The pilots claim the person with a jetpack was flying at about 3,000 feet in the air.

Local law enforcement is investigating the reports.