FBI: LAX 'jetpack man' sightings may have been balloons

Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The FBI said sightings of a "jetpack man" flying near Los Angeles International Airport may have been sparked by balloons.

Pilots flying in and out of LAX in late 2020 reported multiple sightings of a man piloting a jetpack near the airport, and at least two pilots reported seeing a similar scene in late July of this year.

"A Boeing 747 pilot reported seeing an object that might have resembled a jet pack 15 miles east of LAX at 5,000 feet altitude," an FAA representative said after the most recent sightings. "Out of an abundance of caution, air traffic controllers alerted other pilots in the vicinity."

The FBI released a statement Tuesday offering one possible explanation for the sightings.

"The FBI has worked closely with the FAA to investigate reported jetpack sightings in the Los Angeles area, none of which have been verified," the FBI said in a statement released to KABC-TV. "One working theory is that pilots might have seen balloons."

A photo captured by a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter in November 2020 and released this week shows a balloon in the shape of Jack Skellington, a character from 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas, flying over the Hollywood Hills area.