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I'm surprised that there's not a single picture of this from any of the passengers on the landing flight and that ATC didn't seem to confirm it via radar, eithe

I'm surprised that there's not a single picture of this from any of the passengers on the landing flight and that ATC didn't seem to confirm it via radar, either.

anderiv 6y ago
ATC primary radar can’t resolve objects that small, and the jetpack-person was unlikely to have the requisite transponder to make it visible to secondary.
- throwanem 6y ago
  And you'd need a very long lens to get a worthwhile shot of a human-sized object a fifth of a mile (~300 yards, so ~900 feet, ~0.3km) away. No phone camera can come anywhere close. I do actually own a lens that could do it. Extended to full 500mm focal length and mounted on a camera body, the whole package is about three feet (0.9m) long. That's a lot to wrestle in economy class, especially if you're not in the window seat! Given advance knowledge of the opportunity, with time enough to prepare, it wouldn't be too hard a shot to get, I think. But taken totally by surprise? Even if you spot me the camera being out and ready to shoot - which is no triviality given that this happened on final - and the jetpack guy being perfectly visible out the passenger windows, I'd still need a very large helping of good fortune, not to mention a good deal of tolerance on the part of whoever is in the window seat.
  - sudosysgen 6y ago
    In theory, a sharp enough crop body and a 300mm lens could do it. But yes, you really do need a good lens.
- mdorazio 6y ago
  That's interesting. Do you have any reading material on the relative resolutions of primary vs. secondary airport radars? Given the shape and profile of a human with a jetpack (basically zero angles), I just assumed that such a person would be easily radar visible.
skykooler 6y ago
Passengers don't have a very good field of view compared to the pilots; they may not have seen it.
throwaway373438 6y ago
It seems crazy we don't have cameras recording at all times on airplanes. Even cars have dashcams.
- YetAnotherNick 6y ago
  I searched this on many places. Only valid reason I can find is the extreme temperatures on the out of the plane. Also, from what I can find airplanes generally have camera near landing gear to aid taxiing.
  - coolspot 6y ago
    Besides technical reasons, there is a legal angle... > Pilot unions and other groups have long opposed cockpit video cameras, arguing that images or footage may be misused by accident investigators, prosecutors or news media. https://www.google.com/amp/s/time.com/3845234/cockpit-video-camera/%3Famp%3Dtrue https://www.google.com/amp/s/time.com/3845234/cockpit-video-...
  - kaybe 6y ago
    Certification is a b*tch..

I'm surprised that there's not a single picture of this from any of the passengers on the landing flight and that ATC didn't seem to confirm it via radar, either.

anderiv 6y ago

ATC primary radar can’t resolve objects that small, and the jetpack-person was unlikely to have the requisite transponder to make it visible to secondary.

throwanem 6y ago
And you'd need a very long lens to get a worthwhile shot of a human-sized object a fifth of a mile (~300 yards, so ~900 feet, ~0.3km) away. No phone camera can come anywhere close. I do actually own a lens that could do it. Extended to full 500mm focal length and mounted on a camera body, the whole package is about three feet (0.9m) long. That's a lot to wrestle in economy class, especially if you're not in the window seat! Given advance knowledge of the opportunity, with time enough to prepare, it wouldn't be too hard a shot to get, I think. But taken totally by surprise? Even if you spot me the camera being out and ready to shoot - which is no triviality given that this happened on final - and the jetpack guy being perfectly visible out the passenger windows, I'd still need a very large helping of good fortune, not to mention a good deal of tolerance on the part of whoever is in the window seat.
- sudosysgen 6y ago
  In theory, a sharp enough crop body and a 300mm lens could do it. But yes, you really do need a good lens.
mdorazio 6y ago
That's interesting. Do you have any reading material on the relative resolutions of primary vs. secondary airport radars? Given the shape and profile of a human with a jetpack (basically zero angles), I just assumed that such a person would be easily radar visible.

skykooler 6y ago

Passengers don't have a very good field of view compared to the pilots; they may not have seen it.

throwaway373438 6y ago

It seems crazy we don't have cameras recording at all times on airplanes. Even cars have dashcams.

YetAnotherNick 6y ago
I searched this on many places. Only valid reason I can find is the extreme temperatures on the out of the plane. Also, from what I can find airplanes generally have camera near landing gear to aid taxiing.
- coolspot 6y ago
  Besides technical reasons, there is a legal angle... > Pilot unions and other groups have long opposed cockpit video cameras, arguing that images or footage may be misused by accident investigators, prosecutors or news media. https://www.google.com/amp/s/time.com/3845234/cockpit-video-camera/%3Famp%3Dtrue https://www.google.com/amp/s/time.com/3845234/cockpit-video-...
- kaybe 6y ago
  Certification is a b*tch..