# "Guy in a jetpack" reported at LAX **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 1, 2020, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559 "2020-09-01T22:58:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/41 "2020-10-19T18:53:36Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > using it near one of the busiest airports in the world would be insane. That’s why it made the news. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/42 "2020-11-03T00:37:35Z")
Possible footage: > **[r/PublicFreakout - Guys see guy with jetpack near LAX](https://old.reddit.com/r/PublicFreakout/comments/jmpezo/guys_see_guy_with_jetpack_near_lax/)** > > 6,806 votes and 483 comments so far on Reddit I didn’t realize how close to the airport jetpack guy actually was flying. Looks like he might be parked in an employee lot or something. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/43 "2020-11-03T02:20:53Z")
Sure looked like he was gonna touchdown when he got obscured by that building. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/44 "2020-11-03T08:08:03Z")
What I don’t understand is why the guy is doing this at a major airport. Is he just a major jerk and thrill seeker? And if he’s landing so close to the airport, why has nobody seen him on the ground, or at least seen approximately where he’s landing? Also, you can’t simply buy a jet pack off the shelf. They’re uncommon, expensive, usually custom made, and require a lot of training. It’s not like someone can casually buy a jetpack and start flying around, let alone at 6,000ft. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum\_45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum_45/32/3385_2.png) [@eburacum\_45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum_45)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/45 "2020-11-03T08:28:22Z")
I think that clip is probably a fake. The reports placed the sighting seven miles northwest of the airport. Did this flyer deliberately follow the planes in and land near the airport security services? ---
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/46 "2020-11-28T01:57:22Z")
Here is a guy taking credit for the fake video. It does not clear up the matter of who or what the airline pilots had been reporting. [Jetpack prank video](https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/youtuber-airrack-fools-internet-with-fake-jetpack-prank-1460363/) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/47 "2020-12-24T17:33:07Z")
A new video from a few days ago: > **[Video Taken By Pilots Of What Could Be The Elusive Los Angeles Jet Pack Guy...](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38403/video-taken-by-pilots-of-what-could-be-the-elusive-los-angeles-jet-pack-guy-emerges)** > > Flight school pilots were on a training flight off the coast when they were surprised to see what appeared to be a guy in a jet pack whizzing by. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/48 "2020-12-24T18:25:39Z")
wtf he’s way out over the water; that would seem to rule out the drone-with-a-mannequin theory. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/49 "2020-12-26T21:45:27Z")
I don’t think it rules out a drone any more than it rules out an actual guy on a jet pack. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/50 "2020-12-26T21:49:57Z")
Here’s a real jet pack. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xL02e4L-RQo/maxresdefault.jpg "Take on Gravity Jet suit demo with HMS Queen Elizabeth") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL02e4L-RQo) ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/51 "2020-12-26T21:56:13Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > This story showed up in my Facebook news feed this morning. I honestly thought it had to be an Onion article or something, until I heard the ATC recording. I’m not sure the Onion or the Babylon Bee can possibly outweird the “reality” of 2020. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/52 "2021-07-31T14:15:31Z")
The jetpack is back! > **[Los Angeles air traffic control warns 'jetpack guy is back'](https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-air-traffic-control-95ff530ee7284e4aff479316d2940c1d)** > > LOS ANGELES (AP) — The FBI is investigating what one commercial airline pilot said might have been an airborne person with a jetpack, high in the busy skies near Los Angeles International Airport. The Los Angeles Times reported that the Boeing 747... ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/53 "2021-08-01T00:07:05Z")
Air Traffic Control audio from the incident: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Nbby43LEEJQ/maxresdefault.jpg "JETPACK GUY RETURNS TO LAX | "We're looking for Iron Man!"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbby43LEEJQ) A couple of the pilots refer to him as “Iron Man”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/54 "2021-08-01T00:59:26Z")
I was halfway through the thread beforeI realized Frank Zapata was not Frank Zappa. Who’s dead anyway. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/55 "2021-08-01T01:13:22Z")
Frank was smart and talented, but no, he did not add “zombie rocket scientist & daredevil” to his repertoire. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/56 "2021-08-01T01:37:22Z")
Didn’t Lawn Chair Larry also hover over LAX? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/57 "2021-08-01T02:42:50Z")
Someday he may get sucked right into a jet engine (yes, it happens) with unfortunate results for both Jet Pack Man and airplane. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/58 "2021-08-01T16:26:58Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IksDrZDV0bE/maxresdefault.jpg "Firefly Darn") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IksDrZDV0bE) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/59 "2021-08-01T19:31:21Z")
That was a great scene. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559/60 "2021-08-01T19:53:52Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Didn’t Lawn Chair Larry also hover over LAX? Long Beach airport. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guy-in-a-jetpack-reported-at-lax/919559.md?page=4)