Sky is very large, plenty of infinite room for everyone and the birds.
Any pilot will tell you that it can get
very small
very fast. Especially, as Trooper117 pointed out, in a busy controlled airspace like LAX. And if there's "room for everyone and the birds" why are there so many bird strikes every year?
"Jet packs" are not widely available nor are there very many people who know how to fly them
Thinking the same thing myself. Should make it fairly easy to find the culprit.
this sounds a bit fishy to me.
That thought has crossed my mind, as well. The fact that two pilots from two different airlines reported it makes it less likely to be a gag, though. First, because it would require coordination...not impossible, but timing the landings that close together with all the potential variables of air travel would be tricky. And second, because if it turns out to be a hoax those guys will NEVER fly commercially in the United States, or probably very many other countries, again...unless they buy a ticket. That's quite a risk for a prank.
They say he was hovering. Either way, scary for all involved if it went south.
Yeah. Unless he had a parachute as a backup he was putting a
lot of trust in that thing to hang out at 3,000 feet.
*edit*
He was reported south of the airport. If I remember, the old Hughes airfield is down that way and only a mile or two from LAX. Unless it's been built up recently that would be my bet for where he took off and landed. Can anyone who lives out there confirm?