ANTHONY TOWNSHIP -- The final pieces of a military blimp that went down in Montour County were removed Saturday by the military.
The military brought in choppers to lift out the remaining pieces from an area in Anthony Township, near Muncy. The military blimp ended up there on Wednesday afternoon, hours after it broke free from its mooring at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
A line attached to the chopper fished out sections of the blimp's "skin," a radar unit the size of a large van, and a bracket that was used to secure it. The line lifted the blimp parts out of a wooded area and ferried them to a field where they could be loaded onto trucks.
People from the area watched from a nearby hillside, taking photos. Justin Reis watched with his helicopter-loving sons, ages 2 and 5. "Pretty cool, yea, something you don't see in Muncy very often, that is for sure," he said.
Kay Houseknecht would see the blimp when she visited her daughter who lives in Aberdeen, Maryland. On Wednesday, it ended up feet from her home, much to her surprise. Because the power was out, she had not been able to track the blimp's journey.
She said neither woman could believe the blimp's improbable path. "She said, 'Mom, I can't believe this happened.' And I said, 'I can't either.'"
Trucks loaded with the blimp sections traveled to the United States Armed Forces Reserve Center near Danville. Officials say the radar unit will be returned to Maryland. The other sections will be taken elsewhere as part of the military investigation.