NEW FREEPORT, Pa.,None — An unmanned reconnaissance blimp launched from Ohio by defense contractor Lockheed Martin has crash landed in the woods of Greene County.
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Lockheed Martin spokesman Keith Little said the remote-controlled airship took off from Akron, Ohio, shortly before 6 a.m. Little said the high-altitude ship was being tested as a communications relay for the Army and was supposed to climb to 60,000 feet.
The Hale-D blimp, which is slightly larger than the Goodyear Blimp, made it 32,000 feet off the ground, but a problem kept it from flying higher, officials said. The ship was put into a controlled descent and came down in the New Freeport area.
"A decision was made to end the flight and make a controlled descent into a non-populated area in southwestern Pennsylvania at 8:26a.m.," Lockhead officials said in a statement.
Lockheed officials said they're cooperating with a state police investigation. No injuries were reported.
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