|
U.S. agency probes blimp emergency
landing in Philadelphia neighborhood
Send a link to a friend
[May 23, 2016]
(Reuters) - The emergency landing of
a blimp near a highway in a Philadelphia neighborhood is under
investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, an agency official
said on Saturday.
|
A deflated blimp is seen after an emergency landing at a construction
site in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in an aerial photo from the
Philadelphia Police Department taken May 20, 2016. Philadelphia Police
Department/Lt David Bonk/Handout via Reuters |
|
 The blimp lost power before the emergency landing on Friday, FAA
spokesman Rick Breitenfeldt said in an email. Two people were on
board but they were not injured in the landing at about 7 p.m. local
time in an open area near a major highway.
Lt. David Bonk, a Philadelphia police officer in a helicopter
tactical unit, posted a Twitter message with an aerial photo of the
blimp lying mostly deflated in what appeared to be a construction
zone.
"Not something #TacAir sees everyday," Bonk said on Twitter.
 "The blimp had a hard landing, had engine problems, it was
overheating," Ray Evers of the Philadelphia Police Department told
reporters, according to video from local television station NBC 10.
A Philadelphia police representative did not immediately return
calls for comment.
Breitenfeldt could not immediately say which company was operating
the blimp, which was displaying advertising and came down in
Fishtown, a neighborhood that historically was the working-class
center of a large fishing industry and has many restaurants and
music venues.
[to top of second column] |
The blimp, which had been flying over the Delaware River earlier in
the evening, was captured on video descending over the highway and
striking a concrete barrier with its passenger capsule, according to
NBC 10.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Richard
Chang and David Gregorio)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
