The latest on an unmanned Army surveillance blimp that broke loose from its ground tether at a military base in Maryland on Wednesday and drifted over central Pennsylvania.
4:10 p.m.
Pennsylvania state police say a military blimp that broke loose in Maryland and drifted over Pennsylvania is on the ground and secure.
Bob Reese, a state police spokesman in Montoursville, says it came down in the area of Muncy, near Williamsport.
The blimp caused about 18,000 power outages. Columbia County chief clerk Gail Kipp says the blimp dragged its tether line, which took out power lines and caused widespread outages.
The unmanned Army surveillance blimp broke loose from its ground tether at a military base and drifted over central Pennsylvania as fighter jets tracked it. The aircraft is known as a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System and can be used as part of a missile defense system.
It's not clear how the blimp came loose.
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3:35 p.m.
A county official in northeastern Pennsylvania says a blimp on the loose over the state has caused widespread power outages.
Columbia County chief clerk Gail Kipp says the blimp is dragging its tether line, which is taking out power lines and causing widespread outages.
About 18,000 customers were out of power.
Bloomsburg University cancelled classes for the day because of the outage.
Residents around the county have been tweeting photos and video of the blimp seemingly getting lower and lower to the ground.
The unmanned Army surveillance blimp broke loose from its ground tether at a military base in Maryland on Wednesday and drifted over central Pennsylvania as two Air Force fighter jets tracked it.
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2 p.m.
The Pentagon said Wednesday that U.S. fighter jets were tracking an unmanned Army surveillance blimp that tore loose from its ground tether in Maryland and drifted north over Pennsylvania.
Details were sketchy, but a statement from the North American Aerospace Defense Command in Colorado said the blimp detached from its station at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, at about 12:20 p.m. EDT.
Two F-16 fighter jets from the Atlantic City Air National Guard Base in New Jersey were monitoring the craft, which was traveling north at an altitude of about 16,000 feet.
FAA officials were working with the military to ensure air traffic safety in the area.
The aircraft is known as a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System and can be used as part of a missile defense system.
It was not immediately clear how the blimp came loose.
