NORAD secures runaway blimp in Pennsylvania

A JLENS blimp (Photo: U.S. Air Force)

NORAD scrambled jets on Wednesday to track a military blimp that broke free of its tether at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

A JLENS blimp, short for Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor, was accompanied at 16,000 feet by two F-16s fighter jets from the New Jersey National Guard. The aircraft was eventually secured in Montour County, Pennsylvania.

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The blimp (technically an aerostat), detached from its East Coast surveillance location at 11:54 a.m. EST.

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"We’re concerned about the safety of the people on the ground across a pretty wide swath of Pennsylvania. The blimp left quite a bit of damage at ground level in its path. ... We're continuing to monitor the situation, but are thankful that something worse did not occur," Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pennsylvania, said in a statement, Fox News reported.

The $180 million surveillance aircraft's 6,700-foot cable caused power outages for roughly 18,000 people, regional utility PPL reported.