LOS ANGELES, CA – Federal authorities and local law enforcement are investigating a bizarre safety incident after a jet pilot reported a “potential skydiver” in a wingsuit flying directly over their aircraft during a final approach to Los Angeles International Airport Sunday afternoon.
An Unexpected Encounter at 4,000 Feet
The incident involved Special Air Mission flight 741 (SAM741), a Gulfstream jet that had departed from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland earlier in the day.
According to air traffic control audio recordings, the pilot contacted the LAX Control Tower at approximately 2:30 p.m. to report the sighting. The pilot stated that someone wearing a wingsuit had crossed directly above their aircraft at an altitude of roughly 4,000 feet.
Air and Ground Search Yields No Results
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approach control facility, SoCal TRACON, quickly notified local law enforcement of a skydiver in the airspace west of the 605 Freeway and north of the 105 Freeway.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) Air Bureau immediately launched a helicopter to intercept and identify the individual. However, by the time the chopper arrived in the designated airspace, the wingsuit flyer had disappeared.
Aviation Warnings Issued
The near-miss occurred within 10 minutes of SAM741 landing safely at LAX. Following the report, air traffic controllers issued immediate warnings to other commercial pilots operating in the busy Los Angeles airspace.
The FAA and local authorities are continuing to look into the incident, as unauthorized skydiving or wingsuit flying in commercial flight paths poses a severe federal safety violation.
