Earlier this week a man was seen flying in a jet pack 3,000 feet off the ground near LAX, where he was spotted by pilots trying to fly passenger planes. A scary situation that has landed the mystery man in hot water with the FBI.
As the LA Times puts it:
“It sounds like something out of a movie: An American Airlines pilot calls the control tower at Los Angeles International Airport to warn that his plane just flew past someone in midair — a person wearing a jet pack.
But the pilot really did give that warning Sunday evening, and it wasn’t laughed off. The FBI is investigating.”
The question now on everyone’s mind: Is this a one-time thing or a harbinger of things to come? Is the jet pack era now upon us?!
It’s hard to say.
In the entire history of this blog I’ve only written about jet packs once. They are like flying cars; a part of science fiction lore but not all that practical in real life. At least, not yet. But perhaps that’s about to change.
People seem to like the idea of city streets being turned over to pedestrians, with cities closing streets to cars, while restaurants set up outdoor seating in areas that used to be reserved for parked cars. What started as a necessity during a pandemic quickly turning into a new normal.
But what does that mean for transportation? If people can’t drive how will they get around? Bicycle riding is the obvious answer. The less obvious answer? Personalized jet packs. Maybe the man at LAX wasn’t an outlier. Maybe he was just an early adopter. Providing all of us with a sneak peak at a future that’s just around the corner.
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