The FBI has released a detailed set of investigative files on the so-called “Jetpack Man” sightings near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The release on October 1, 2025, followed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by The Black Vault first filed August 3, 2021 and resubmitted November 27, 2021 after an initial denial. The Bureau originally withheld all the records under FOIA exemption (b)(7)(A) for ongoing investigations but reversed its position with the second request after nearly four years.
When the sightings first made headlines in 2020 and 2021, they were widely portrayed as encounters with a person flying a jetpack near commercial aircraft. Yet the FBI’s files show that at least one pilot later walked back that description. In one case, the China Airlines captain who initially thought he saw a “jetpack” told investigators on reflection that “he did not believe it resembled the shape and size of a human” and noted that “there were no propellers or jet propulsion devices attached to the object.”
The records released mark the first “interim” disclosure for this case which remains open, indicating that additional material may still be forthcoming. For this release, 250 pages were reviewed, bit only 130 were released. It is unclear what is in the 120 pages completely withheld.
Hellbound and Down 