On Wednesday, a blimp-like aircraft sprung free from its tethers and set sail from the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. The 243-foot-long flying object roamed over Pennsylvanian skies — perchance to catch a glimpse of lingering pope signage — and headed in a Northeasterly direction.
How did this happen, and what danger does an errant blimp pose to the general public? No one knows. How do you catch a blimp? The military was on the case. Two F-16s were immediately dispatched from the New Jersey National Guard. The blimp is associated with North American Aerospace Defense Command, which went into high alert in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration. The situation could have presented serious air-traffic issues, as well as obvious concerns down below.
To make matters worse, the blimp trailed 6,700 feet of cable although it maintained its flight at 16,000 feet in altitude. NORAD hoped for a “safe recovery” of the blimp, but the involved agencies were clearly dealing with an unexpected situation. And a breaking situation at that. The blimp has reportedly landed in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania where it took out power lines according to video posted on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/FPCreasy/status/659435132605112321/video/1
Twitter reacted to this situation with a combination of disbelief and humor, which included a throwback to the more innocent Twitter days of Baby Hitler.
https://twitter.com/ditzkoff/status/659434475907063809
President Trump would have that blimp brought down so fast, you wouldn’t believe how fast
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) October 28, 2015
https://twitter.com/keithdowler/status/659442109020295168
Quick everyone put together a military blimp costume for Halloween!
— Ashe Short (@AsheSchow) October 28, 2015
Aberdeen blimp system was supposed to detect unusual aerial activity. Now it *is* unusual aerial activity.
— Ian Duncan (@iduncan) October 28, 2015
https://twitter.com/crushingbort/status/659430438444863488
Our thoughts are with the missing #blimp. Be free! @AberdeenBlimp pic.twitter.com/2iyCww8vMx
— Tornado Trackers (@tornadotrackers) October 28, 2015
(Via CNN & The Baltimore Sun)