The Runaway Blimp Has Been Shot Down

Officials shot down a runaway military blimp Thursday in Pennsylvania.

State police fired more than 100 rounds into the football field-length unmanned surveillance craft, reports the Associated Press.

The blimp is “mostly intact,” with the two major pieces a few hundred meters apart, said U.S. Army Captain Matthew Villa. Removal could take anywhere from days to weeks.

The blimp landed in Pennsylvania Wednesday afternoon after it broke loose from its mooring at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. It was equipped with sensitive defense technology used for monitoring missiles.

The equipment has been removed, according to authorities, but the vast majority of the 240-foot-long blimp is still on site. The wreckage is split between the main body and the tail section.

The craft covered about 150 miles over its three hour journey, before it came down near Muncy, a small town about 80 miles north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Air National Guard dispatched two F-16 fighter jets to monitor the craft during its drift through Pennsylvania. More than 20,000 people were reportedly without power due to the craft.

[AP]