Hitting a grounded airship with a shotgun blast is no great feat of marksmanship, but it is how Pennsylvania state police deflated the aerostat that came unmoored and drifted across the state line on Oct. 28, according to the Associated Press.
The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Netted Sensor System is supposed to stay tethered to the ground at the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground in northeastern Maryland.
After the vessel crashed in a remote area, the Army recovered sensitive electronics and, on Friday, planned to retrieve the radar system. The remains of the hull were expected to be removed over the weekend, AP reported.
According to CAPT Matthew Villa, the plan was for helicopters to pull the hull out of the trees near Muncy, Pennsylvania, and then for military trucks to haul it to “wherever investigators want it to go,” AP reported.
