Jetpack Man at LAX May Have Been 'Nightmare Before Christmas' Balloon
The mystery surrounding reported sightings of a man flying in the air around Los Angeles using a jetpack may have been solved, with police footage suggesting it could have been a large balloon depicting animated character Jack Skellington.
For more than a year, authorities have been left baffled by numerous reports of a figure flying thousands of feet in the air near flight paths at Los Angeles International Airport.
Despite investigations being launched by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the FBI, no explanation of the so-called "jetpack guy" has been given.
However, videos and photos released by the Los Angeles Police Department, seen by Fox 11 and NBC4, may have solved the mystery regarding at least one of the sightings.
The video and photos taken by an LAPD helicopter crew shows a balloon of Jack Skellington, the main character from The Nightmare Before Christmas, flying thousands of feet in the air Holmby Hills and Beverly Hills areas.
The images were captured in early November 2020, about two weeks after the second of the so-called "Jetpack Guy."
In a joint statement to the news stations, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the FBI said: "The FBI has worked closely with the FAA to investigate reported jetpack sightings in the Los Angeles area, none of which have been verified.
"One working theory is that pilots might have seen balloons."
The first reported sighting of the so-called "Jetpack Guy" occurred in August 2020 after an American Airlines pilot claimed to have seen a figure around 3,000 feet in the air near Los Angeles International Airport.
Other reported sightings of Jetpack Guy around LAX were made by China Airlines crew who claimed they saw a man in a jet pack at an altitude of around 6,000 feet close to the airport in October 2020.
Another alleged sighting of a man near LAX apparently flying a jetpack was made in July 2021
"Use caution, the Jetpack Guy is back," said one air traffic alert said during July's sighting by a Boeing 747 pilot just a few miles east of LAX at around 5,000 feet altitude, The Associated Press reported at the time.
It is still doubtful that the Jack Skellington balloon seen in the footage from November 2020 is what the pilot spotted in July 2021, given the amount of time it would have to have been airborne around LAX.
A law enforcement official told NBC that police have ruled out other possibilities, such as the there was a person using a jetpack, the pilots actually saw a drone carrying an object that looked like a jetpack, or that the sightings were made up.
"The FAA has worked closely with the FBI to investigate every reported jetpack sighting," the FAA and FBI added to NBC.
"So far, none of these sightings have been verified,"
The LAPD has been contacted for further comment.
