Military blimp breaks loose, causes blackouts in Pennsylvania

Associated Press

MUNCY, Pa.

An unmanned Army surveillance blimp broke loose from its mooring in Maryland and floated over Pennsylvania for hours Wednesday with two fighter jets on its tail, triggering blackouts across the countryside as it dragged its tether across power lines.

The bulbous, 240-foot helium-filled blimp eventually came down in at least two pieces near Muncy, a small town about 80 miles north of Harrisburg, as people gawked in wonder and disbelief at the big, white, slow-moving craft. No injuries were reported.

Fitted with sensitive defense technology, the radar-equipped blimp escaped from the military’s Aberdeen Proving Ground about 12:20 p.m. and drifted northward, climbing to about 16,000 feet, authorities said. It covered approximately 150 miles over about 31/2 hours.

As it floated away, aviation officials feared it would endanger air traffic, and two F-16s were scrambled from a National Guard base in New Jersey to track it. But there was never any intention of shooting it down, said Navy Capt. Scott Miller, a spokesman for the nation’s air- defense command.

The blimp – which cannot be steered remotely – eventually deflated and settled back to Earth on its own, according to Miller. He said there was an auto-deflate device aboard, but it was not deliberately activated, and it is unclear why the craft went limp.

He said it was also unknown how the blimp broke loose, and an investigation was under way.

Residents watched it float silently over the sparsely populated area, its dangling tether taking out power lines.

About 27,000 customers in two counties were left without power, according to electric utility PPL, and Bloomsburg University canceled classes because of the outage.

Electricity was restored to most people within a few hours.