October 29, 2015

Loose US military blimp lands in Pennsylvania





A blimp associated with NORAD's surveillance of the East Coast that became untethered from its mooring in Maryland is now on the ground and authorities have it secured.

According to NORAD, the blimp "is mostly deflated and located in the vicinity of Moreland Township, Pennsylvania. Local authorities are securing the area and there is a military recovery team en route."

The loose JLENS blimp had been in the air over Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and caused power outages before it came down, Columbia County Department of Public Safety Director Fred Hunsinger said.

The military took no kinetic action to bring it to the ground, according to the Pentagon, though there is no further information at this point about how it came down.

Hunsinger went on to say that there have been no reports of injuries or deaths, but the dragging of the blimp's cable had school leaders taking precautions to protect children as classes began to let out for the day.There are currently about 15,000 without power in the Bloomsburg area, according to Joe Nixon with PPL Electric. Nixon said they have "reports that the blimp hit power lines in the Bloomsburg area" and that they went to the scene to investigate.

Nixon noted it is rainy and windy in the area.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's office said that federal authorities and local emergency management personnel have confirmed the aerostat is contained and no longer moving in Montour County.

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