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NORAD Blimp Escapes Tether In Pennsylvania [Breaking]

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 07:28 PST, Oct 28, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayI80PxVAvc

CNN is reporting that a NORAD blimp, used for surveillance, has come loose from its tethers in Pennsylvania and is now floating out of control over the area. At this time, the U.S. military is unsure how they are going to bring the rogue, helium-filled blimp down or get it under control, but it is being monitored by two F-16s, which were scrambled from the New Jersey National Guard.

The NORAD Blimp is part of the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, system. The system consists of this NORAD Blimp and one other, both of which are supposed to remain tethered to the ground. They are roughly 100 yards in length, and both NORAD blimps have the radar capacity and technology to protect a Texas-sized area from incoming airborne threats, such as missiles.

The escaped NORAD Blimp is believed to be floating very low to the ground in Columbia County, Pennsylvana. The state’s governor has assured the public that the situation is being monitored very closely.

“The Governor’s Office is in communication with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, the Pennsylvania State Police, the National Guard, and the appropriate authorities with the federal government.”

The NORAD Blimp is supposed to be equipped with remote-deflation technology, but for undisclosed (or possibly even unknown) reasons, the fail-safe doesn’t appear to be working.

Update as of 4:06 p.m. EDT:

The Baltimore Sun reports that residents are being asked to call 911 if they spot the free-floating NORAD Blimp, and that it escaped its tether at roughly 12 p.m. local time. In addition to the blimp’s over-250-foot length, it is also connected to a trailing 6,700 feet of tethering cables, and it is estimated to be roughly 16,000 feet in the air. That altitude will, of course, be declining as the NORAD Blimp will have to be brought down eventually.

The “how” of getting the gigantic and expensive JLENS NORAD Blimp has not been fully determined, although the military is preparing to send additional air support — namely, scrambling helicopters to the crash/landing site when the NORAD Blimp finally comes down.

The NORAD Blimp became a fixture of the local skyline in December, 2014, when it was originally launched, amid some controversy. Many privacy groups have questioned the need for and legality of such sophisticated surveillance technology within the United States. Safety concerns have also been raised in the past, with most of them being scoffed at as “baseless.”

While Raytheon, the contractor that manufactured the NORAD Blimp, has reassured the public that the tether cables were unlikely to break, even in rough weather, something has clearly gone wrong today. At this early hour, no one is sure exactly how the pricey NORAD Blimp escaped.

“The chance of that happening is very small because the tether is made of Vectran and has withstood storms in excess of 100 knots.”

CNN is now breaking the news that roughly 20,000 people in Bloomsberg, Pennsylvania, are now without power amid reports that the loose NORAD Blimp has crashed into power lines in the area. It is being reported that authorities are rushing to the area to determine the exact nature of the situation.

The public is being advised to stay away from the area, and to expect a large military and/or police presence in the vicinity as authorities from several agencies work to secure the scene and the expensive NORAD Blimp. The controversial JLENS project cost upwards of $2.7 billion, and it has had several costly setbacks. In 2010, an entire blimp was totally lost when it collided with another airship at a secure facility.

Not surprisingly, locals and non-locals alike have taken to social media to warn each other and generally mock the escaped NORAD Blimp situation currently unfolding.

While the loose NORAD Blimp is certainly a serious situation, particularly for locals, the reports that it has landed seem to be easing some of the most immediate fears. Stay tuned for more information about the wayward NORAD Blimp.

[Image Courtesy U.S. Military / Getty Images]

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