On Sunday even , while number into land at   Los Angeles International Airport , three pilots saw a tidy sum that seems to be right out of a cartoon .

" Tower , American 1997 , we just passed a guy in a jetpack , " one pilot light severalise Air Traffic Control , in audioobtained by Fox11 . In a response so matter of fact it ’s in reality absurd , the strain dealings controller replied , " OK thank you . Were they to your left over or right - hand side ? " instead of " What in the hell are you talking about , you sound like you ’re on mucilage " .

The pilot   reported that the man in a jetpack was off to the left side of the sheet , " maybe 300 yards [ 274 meters ] or so , about our height . " A second pilot on a freestanding flying confirmed they too had seen the man in a jetpack , before a third pilot on a Jet Blue flight report that they saw the person , again at about 900 meters ( 3,000 feet ) , just yards from the rail .

Take a few moments to visualise three pilots rubbing their eyes in cartoon disbelief before throw away   the offending pipe of glue .

So is it potential they really saw a person in a jetpack flying in air space unremarkably reserve for commercial airplanes ? The short answer is yes . Jetpacks have follow a tenacious fashion since the 10 or 20 - second flightsfirst achieved in the 1960s , which flee to heights of about 1.2 time ( 4 feet ) . The maneuverability of the pack and science of the pilots has also vastly improved since the first flying of the   Bell Rocket Belt , which ended a few seconds after it begin when the rubber lead broke and the pilot fall 2.5 meters ( 8 feet ) to the ground , shatter his kneecap .

Back in 2016 , the   Martin Aircraft Company of New Zealandclaimedits jetpack could pilot at altitude of 900 meters ( 3,000 feet ) at speeds of   74 kilometers per hour ( 46 mile per hour ) for between 30 and 45 minutes . Since then ,   Jetman Dubai has put that to attaint with its wing jetpack , which gain tallness of 1,800 meters ( 6,000 feet ) in February 2020 . In fact , here it is below fly alongside a aeroplane .

The Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) and the   Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA ) have now begun investigations into the incident , though no obvious culprits have been identify . Jetpacks are , you ’ll be shock to memorize , rarefied , which constrict the   suspects down to multimillion - dollar companies and any supervillains in the vicinity   who ordered a suspicious amount of reverse lightning fuel to their garage online .

[ H / T : Motherboard ]