Military Blimp Breaks Free And May Be Responsible For Widespread Power Outages In Pennsylvania

(CBSLA.com) — A military blimp reportedly untethered from an army station in Maryland and floated into neighboring Pennsylvania, where it may have knocked down power lines and cut electricity to around 21,000 residents.

#Blimp was among the top trending items on Twitter Wednesday for the Los Angeles area. The stream of photos documenting the helium blimp's flight are fascinating and many kept checking back to see how far it had traveled.

The 243-foot blimp, also known as the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) or aerostat, broke free around noon Wednesday from its mooring at the Aberdeen Proving Ground Army installation in Edgewood, Maryland, according to several news reports.

The aerostat hovered at a constant 16,000-foot elevation while trailing 6,700 feet of cable. Two military fighter jets from the Air National guard worked to help retrieve it, according to military officials.

There were unconfirmed reports that the blimp was responsible for knocking out power to thousands of residents in Central Pennsylvania.

The blimp was brought down and secured a few hours later without further incident. Despite some apparent rumors, officials had no intention of shooting the blimp down.

• Pennsylvania
• Maryland
• Power Outage