The mystery of Southern California’s infamous “Jetpack Man” may have just found a strange new chapter.
A pilot flying into LAX reported seeing what appeared to be a person in a wing suit or possibly a diver flying thousands of feet above the ground on Sunday afternoon – with speculation reigning that the mysterious figure who baffled authorities years ago may have returned.
This amazing thing happened when the crew of the Gulfstream flight finally landed at LAX.
“We just fell on top of us at 4,000 feet in a wing suit,” the pilot of Special Air Mission Flight 741 told the LAX tower, according to air traffic control audio.
The report immediately drew comparisons to the so-called “Jetpack Man,” a mysterious figure in the air that has been seen several times near LAX since 2020, prompting an investigation by the FAA and FBI.
However, this time, authorities say it is not clear what the pilot saw.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said its Air Bureau was notified by Southern California air traffic controllers about the skydiver west of the 605 Freeway and north of the 105 Freeway around 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
Deputies sent a helicopter to search the area but did not find anyone.
The plane that was reported to have left Joint Base Andrews this morning stopped at Nellis Air Force Base before heading to LAX.
The object or person was spotted less than 10 minutes before the plane landed, according to reports. Other pilots were also reported in this area to stay alert as this incident happened.
The FAA said it is investigating.
The incident revived memories of a strange encounter that began in 2020, when airline pilots repeatedly reported seeing what appeared to be a person flying a jetpack near LAX at altitudes of up to 6,000.
Another widely reported sighting was in August 2020, when flight attendants reported seeing a “guy in a jetpack” flying about 3,000 feet off the ground near the airport.
Another report appeared the following year.
“The pilot of a Boeing 747 reported seeing an object that may have resembled a jet pack about 15 miles east of LAX at an altitude of 5,000 feet,” an FAA spokesperson said after the 2021 sighting. “Out of an abundance of caution, air traffic controllers are warning other pilots in the area.”
The sighting became a global sensation, spawning a range of ideas from secret military technology to daredevils armed with experimental jetpacks.
In December 2020, video footage captured what appeared to be a person wearing a jetpack flying off the coast of Palos Verdes at approximately 3,000 feet, furthering the mystery.
But as investigators dug deeper, a strange explanation emerged.
Government officials eventually suspected that at least some of the sightings involved drones designed to look more like a person wearing a jetpack than an actual person flying through populated space.
No arrests were ever made, and the identity of the so-called Jetpack Man was never fully established.
That uncertainty is part of what has kept the mystery alive.
Sunday’s report made no mention of a jetpack, with the pilot instead describing a possible wingsuit falling above the plane. Authorities have not said whether they believe the recent sightings are related to previous incidents.
However, with another apparently unexplained object passing through the skies near one of the world’s busiest airports, rumors are spreading again that LAX’s infamous aerial mystery may not be over just yet.
