State Police: Military Blimp That Broke Loose Now On the Ground, Secure

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (TheBlaze/AP) -- Pennsylvania state police say a military blimp that broke loose in Maryland and drifted over Pennsylvania is on the ground and secure.

Bob Reese, a state police spokesman in Montoursville, says it came down in the area of Muncy, near Williamsport.

The blimp caused about 18,000 power outages. Columbia County chief clerk Gail Kipp says the blimp dragged its tether line, which took out power lines and caused widespread outages.

The unmanned Army surveillance blimp broke loose from its ground tether at a military base and drifted over central Pennsylvania as fighter jets tracked it. The aircraft is known as a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System and can be used as part of a missile defense system.

It's not clear how the blimp came loose.

Scott Yorty uploaded this video to his Facebook page Wednesday. Yorty's profile says he lives in the area.

Yorty also posted these two photos:

The U.S. Army launched two blimps over Maryland, north of Washington, D.C., on December 14 to better protect the area from cruise missiles and other air attacks. Below is a photo of one of the blimps as it was being inflated.