[AP] Marfa-based Air Force radar blimp crashes

MARFA Federal investigators are looking into why a giant radar blimp tethered high over the Texas-Mexico border in far West Texas crashed this week.

The Air Force-operated aerostat surveillance platform hit the ground Tuesday at its site near Valentine, west of Marfa, after high winds aloft prompted crews to winch it down.

Virginia-based Air Combat Command spokesman Scott Knuteson said Thursday no one was hurt in what’s being called a “class A mishap,” meaning damage tops $2 million.

The unmanned radar balloon is nearly 210 feet long, 70 feet in diameter and is connected to a cable that allows it to float about 12,000 feet above sea level. For more than 15 years. it’s been monitoring low-flying aircraft to help intercept drug planes and help with border security.