“Who would have thought a little balloon would crash here?” one neighbor told WFAA.
HUNT COUNTY, Texas — Strong winds swept through Texas over the last few days, causing damage and, in one case, sending a blimp hundreds of miles across the state.
A tethered aerostat system, which is a form of radar surveillance blimp used by Customs and Border Protection, was caught in a severe wind event on Monday afternoon, officials say.
The wind caused the blimp to break free from its tether in South Padre Island. CBP officials lost contact with the blimp shortly after it broke free, officials said, until it was found by Quinlan Texas Fire and Rescue in Hunt County, about 30 miles east of Dallas.
The incident is being investigated by Air and Marine Operations, as well as federal, state and local officials.
“All the neighbors were over there, nobody knew what it was,” neighbor Clay Hinton told WFAA, as he recalled the initial confusion around what the big white body of material could be.
“Finally, I was like what is this? It’s not a hot air balloon!”
Hilton explained his surprise when he realized federal agents had arrived to look at the aerostat.
Hilton explained his surprise when he realized federal agents had arrived to look at the aerostat.
“I was like, oh, okay it’s not just a tarp or anything. That’s something!”
One family near the site of the crash showed WFAA damage to their roof and said the aerostat hit their home on the way down.
“It’s a lot of missing pieces, broken pieces,” 9-year-old Axel said as he pointed to the damage.
“When I looked outside, I was about to cry.”
CBDP says it will continue its investigation, and the aerostat has since been removed.
“I wanna say 4 or 5 wrecker trucks came down looking for it,” neighbor Geneva Larsey said as she recalled the cleanup.
“We’re in a small town that no one comes to,” Larsey said.
“Who would have thought a little balloon would crash here?”