Mystery “jetpack man” flying over Taichung City was just a balloon

An alleged case of a man with a jetpack flying over Taichung City that was widely reported in Taiwan’s local media today, May 11, turned out to be just a balloon.

Most local media outlets reported the story this morning that a man was seen flying by jetpack over a densely-populated part of the city, after a video taken on May 5th went viral on social media platforms. Even English-language outlet Taiwan News reported the “mysterious man flying in the sky over Taichung City,” likening the incident to the case of a man seen flying a jetpack close to flight paths near Los Angeles Airport last year.

In the video, a tiny figure in the distance is seen slowly drifting left to right.

The allegations even drew a response from the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA), who spoke to the media saying that it had launched an investigation into the incident.

But the story turned into a pie in the sky this evening with Liberty Times revealing that the purported flying jetpack man was just an Iron Man balloon floating over the intersection of Huabei Road and Chongde Road.

Taiwan English News is an independent publication with no corporate funding. If you found this article informative, and would like to support my work, please buy me a coffee or support me on Patreon. Subscribe to Taiwan English News for free to receive the latest news via email. Advertising queries are welcome. Share, like, comment below.