Humans can fly with the aid of a fuel-powered apparatus as depicted above

In what many witnesses are claiming to be a “flying man without wings”, this case in London seems a little too similar to the “flying witch of Mexico” case.

Reports of flying humans are nothing new. With the earliest reported sightings in the mid 1800s, this phenomenon is rarely seen.

Staffordshire, England

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
No, our readers are sure it was a man, flying without wings across the skies over Gentleshaw Common.

Five locals witnessed the figure travelling, seemingly unaided, over houses at around 11am on Sunday, February 8. One described it as a ‘Superman’ moment – a clear case of ‘to Chadsmoor and beyond.’

But eagle-eyed Boney Hay villager Clive Wright believes those who reckon they witnessed something supernatural are talking a load of kryptonite. The 68-year-old, who spotted the flying man from the living room window of his Sunnymead Road home, believes the pilot was travelling with the aid of a jet pack – a strap-on engine made famous in the 1965 James Bond movie, Thunderball.

Clive’s wife, Janet, 68, and 14-year-old grandson Nicholas also witnessed the Chase’s own rocket man.
Clive said: “To say it was strange would be an understatement. And the ‘bottle’ didn’t come into it because none of us drink.
“At first I was watching quite a number of seagulls and noticed

what I thought was one in the middle moving quite slowly. I got up to take a closer look and realised it was a flying man. I searched the sky for the plane he had baled out of, but could see nothing.
“All I could see was this man travelling in a controlled, straight line, travelling from Ryecroft shops across to Gentleshaw Common.
I immediately went upstairs to get my binoculars and went out on the backyard, but he was gone. Some kind of Dan Dare spaceman – that’s what it looked like.”

He added: “The only explanation is that he was wearing a jet pack, although I was surprised he was travelling over a densely populated area.”
One householder, who asked to stay anonymous, said: “I don’t know where he’d been drinking, but they certainly serve some pretty strong stuff. Either that, or I witnessed the world’s worst case of wind.”

* Jet packs may sound decidedly sci-fi, but they’ve been with us since 1961.

Their proper name is Bell Rocket Belts and they were developed for use by the army, but soon ditched because of the equipment’s short flying time.
They fly at around 250m and reach speeds of just above 30mph. Despite being impractical, the Bell Rocket Belt sprang to fame when Sean Connery used one in Thunderball.

Full source: Sunday Mercury