Second plane sees jetpack flying high in skies over LA

FOR the second time in little more than a month, crew members aboard an airliner bound for Los Angeles International airport spotted a person wearing a jetpack flying alongside them.

The latest incident occurred at 6,500 feet – thought to be the highest sighting yet – when a China Airlines crew member caught a glimpse of the flier around seven miles northwest of the airport.

An air traffic controller also saw the jetpack and issued a warning to a commercial pilot about to land at the at LAX at 1.45pm on Wednesday.

The US Federal Aviation Administration, FBI and LAX officials are now investigating the report.

Six weeks ago, another suspected jetpack wearer crossed into the airport’s flight path, which is one of the busiest in the United States.

On Aug 29, an American Airlines pilot and another from Jetblue told air traffic control that they had seen something on their route at around 6.45pm.

“Tower, American 1997. We just passed a guy in a jetpack,” the American Airlines pilot said, adding that the figure was at the same altitude as the plane as it approached the runway.

Shortly after, the Jetblue pilot said: “‘We just saw the guy pass us by in the j etpack.” The control tower then warned other aircraft in the vicinity, before adding: “Only in LA.”

Both planes were at an altitude of around 3,000ft, and at one point the jetpacker was only around 100ft away.

“The FBI is in contact with the FAA, and is investigating multiple reports of what, according to witnesses, appeared to be an individual in a jetpack near LAX, including one today reported by a China Airlines crew,” Laura Eimiller, of the FBI’S Los Angeles field office, told CNN.

Such sightings at high altitudes are unusual, given that the majority of jetpacks cannot fly for longer than a few minutes and are not capable of reaching extreme heights.

Very few jetpack users attempt to fly as high as the altitude witnessed in the second incident.

In February, Vince Reffet flew to nearly 6,000ft during a three-minute flight in Dubai, but he was aided by having a parachute for his descent.

6,500ft

The altitude that the Los Angeles jetpacker was flying at, according to the crew of an inbound China Airlines flight