The Pentagon now confirms this information and says the blimp came down on its own.
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The unmanned Army surveillance blimp that broke loose in Maryland and floated over Pennsylvania for hours Wednesday had residents on edge and students in disbelief.
Two fighter jets based in New Jersey are tracking a military surveillance blimp that broke loose from an Army facility in Maryland, according to a report.
At one point, more than 20,000 people were without power, but most already have it back.
NORAD said the blimp became untethered while at an altitude of 6,600 feet, far below its maximum recommended altitude of up to 10,000 feet.
An unmanned Army surveillance blimp floats through the air while dragging a tether line south of Millville, Pa., Wednesday, October 28, 2015.
The Pentagon quickly sent a pair of armed F-16 Fighting Falcons to monitor and track the aircraft, but shooting the blimp down was never “seriously considered”, Miller said. “We lost power at work, so I looked outside and saw the blimp”, said Wendy Schafer, who was at her job at a spa and salon in Bloomsburg.
Army Captain Matthew Villa says the blimp has been secured with additional ropes and troopers are using shotguns to deflate it. They are still working on a removal plan, and about 60 members of the military are at the scene near Muncy.
The idea for the program is a simple one: Two stationary helium-filled blimps almost 80 yards long each carry sophisticated radar systems that can provide 360-degree surveillance for low-flying weapons systems that could pose a threat.
Bob Reese, a state police spokesman in Montoursville, says it came down in the area of Muncy, near Williamsport.
About 27,000 customers in two counties were left without power, according to electric utility PPL, and Bloomsburg University canceled classes because of the outage.
It was not clear why the blimp had broken free from its mooring, Miller said, adding an investigation into the incident would be conducted.
Columbia County chief clerk Gail Kipp says the blimp is dragging its tether line, which is taking out power lines and causing widespread outages.
The blimp is the kind used extensively in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to provide surveillance over US bases and other sensitive sites.
The office of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf released a statement to let the public know the state was monitoring the situation and discussing it with federal officials, state police and emergency officials and the National Guard.
The craft is known as a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, and can be used to detect hostile missiles and aircraft.
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Pennsylvania police and military officials guarded a wide safety perimeter around the blimp, which settled amid farmland in the remote area.
