Toronto — After more than a year, the mystery in Los Angeles surrounding the "jetpack man" is closer to becoming solved after a new piece of evidence released by the FBI suggests that it may have been a balloon all along.
Since last year, there had been several sightings of what appears to be a man flying in a jetpack near the Los Angeles International Airport. Two airplane pilots first reported the sighting in August 2020.
"We just passed a guy on a jetpack," a pilot told the air traffic control tower in a recording from the time.
"You don't hear that every day!" the controller replied.
Another pilot reported seeing the supposed jetpacker near the airport in October 2020. Pilots reported two more sightings last December and this past July, respectively.
That mysterious jetpacker seen flying high above Southern California, worried pilots, unclear if it was a threat or a thrill seeker, and stumped investigators.
But behind the scenes, the FBI was investigating the reports and this week released a chopper video showing the clearest images yet.
In the video, that mysterious jetpacker appears to be a giant balloon effigy of the character Jack Skellington, from the 1993 Tim Burton film "The Nightmare Before Christmas."
Authorities think the giant balloon character detached from a house near Beverly Hills and floated to freedom before meeting its demise.
"The FAA has worked closely with the FBI to investigate every reported jetpack sighting. So far, none of these sightings have been verified. One working theory is that pilots might have seen balloons," the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority told CTV News in a statement.
