FBI Maps Out Sighting Of Mystery 'JetPack Guy' Near LAX

Los Angeles, CA — The FBI is honing in on the jetpack man spotted at 3,000 feet altitude in the air space near LAX Sunday.

The agency tweeted a call for help identifying the mystery man Friday along with a map showing the specific area where the man was spotted by pilots for two commercial jetliners Sunday night. Federal investigators also sought to convey the seriousness of the matter given the danger posed by a jetpacker sharing airspace with jumbo jets above crowded Los Angeles neighborhoods.

According to the FBI, the man was spotted in the air by pilots just west of the Long Beach (710) Freeway in the Cudahy and South Gate areas. About the time of sighting, the plane was flying northwest of the junction of the 710 and the Century (105) freeways, according to the map released by the FBI. More specifically, it appears the plane was in the area west of the 710, east of San Juan Avenue, north of Firestone Boulevard and south of Cudahy Park

"Anyone with info about activity on or above the ground at the location depicted here should call the FBI," the agency tweeted.

The mystery jetpacker was seen by two commercial jetliner pilots Sunday night as they headed in for a landing in at LAX. The bewildering sight has triggered FBI and Federal Aviation Administration investigations. It also created some confusion among local law enforcement agencies about just who plays traffic cop when it comes to speeding jetpackers.

The sight triggered curiosity and skepticism because the technology is not in widespread use nor are jetpacks in use today known to carry enough fuel to safely carry a person to that altitude and back down again. Jetpacks are noisy and it also seems unlikely no one on the grand daw or recorded it taking off or landing again.

It all started just after 6:30 p.m. when a pilot of American Airlines flight 1997 radioed the LAX tower to make the unusual report.

"Tower, American 1997. We just passed a guy in a jetpack," the pilot said on the radio transmission, which was first obtained by Fox11.

An air traffic controller — noticeably taken aback by the report — responded, "American 1997, OK, thank you for the update. Left side or right side?"

"Off the left side," the pilot responded, "at maybe, uh, 300 yards or so, at our altitude."

At least one other pilot, aboard a Southwest Airlines flight, also spotted the unusual aviator.

"Tower, we just saw the guy pass by us," the pilot reported.

The LAX tower alerted an inbound JetBlue pilot to beware of "a person with a jetpack reported 300 yards south of the L.A. final at about 3,000 feet."

The pilot responded, "We heard and are definitely looking."

The bewildered air traffic controller responded, "Only in L.A."

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor confirmed the jetpack reports.

"Two airline flight crews reported seeing what appeared to be someone in a jet pack as they were on their final approach to LAX around 6:35 p.m. Sunday," Gregor said in an email to Patch. "The FAA alerted local law enforcement to the reports and is looking into these reports."

Local law enforcement agencies weren't sure who had jurisdiction over the jetpacker. A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman referred Patch to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, which referred Patch to the Los Angeles Airport Police, which referred Patch back to the LAPD.

In the end, it was the FBI that took on the investigation.

Steve Cowell, a retired pilot and aviation safety expert, told Fox11 he "absolutely" believes the American Airline pilot's report.

"There's no question in my mind that American pilot was very definitive about what he saw out his window," Cowell told the station.

Cowell said the person may have just been pulling off a prank.

"Even the most technologically advanced jetpacks, you know, can only fly very briefly, so it's possible this person may have gone up, and then come down and then driven away," Cowell told Fox11.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.