LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – Officials are investigating another report of a person flying a jet pack near Los Angeles International Airport Wednesday, the second such possible sighting near LAX within six weeks, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
A China Airlines crew member reported the incident around 1:45 p.m., according to Ian Gregor of the FAA. The person was apparently spotted at an altitude of 6,000 feet, about 7 miles northwest of the airport.
The FAA has alerted local law enforcement, which will investigate the latest incident, Gregor said in a statement.
The FBI, which also looked into the earlier incident, has launched a new investigation, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Wednesday’s sighting comes on the heels of an earlier one on Aug. 30, when two pilots radioed in to the control tower regarding an individual flying with a jet pack near the airport.
An American Airlines pilot first reported that the bizarre encounter around 6:35 p.m., according to the FAA and air traffic control audio recordings.
“Tower, American 1997. We just passed a guy in a jet pack,” the American Airlines pilot told the control tower.
The pilot went on to tell the tower operator that he observed the person flying roughly 300 yards from the aircraft, at an altitude of approximately 3,000 feet.
Soon after, a Southwest Airlines pilot put in a similar report to air traffic control.
“We just saw the guy pass by us in a jet pack,’’ the pilot said, according to the recording.
The tower contacted a third flight — a JetBlue plane approaching LAX — to alert him to the unusual sighting.
“We heard and we are definitely looking,” the JetBlue pilot said.
“Only in L.A.,” the air traffic controller responded.
The FBI sought the public’s help to find the person who was flying the jet pack, but it’s unclear whether they tracked down that individual.
No further details about Wednesday’s incident were immediately released.