Giant Border Protection blimp crashes in Texas after escaping during high winds, traveling 400 miles
Wind gusts of nearly 60 mph were reported near the location of the where the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) was moored in South Padre Island, Texas.
Border Patrol blimp broke free in Texas during high wind
A Customs and Border Protection aircraft used to monitor the southern border in Texas snapped loose and traveled hundreds of miles after high winds blasted the area on Tuesday.
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas – A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) aircraft used to monitor the border in Texas snapped loose and traveled hundreds of miles north after high winds blasted the area Tuesday.
The federal agency said that a Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) operated by CBP Air and Marine Operations broke free from its tether in South Padre Island, in an area where wind gusts of nearly 60 mph were reported.
FILE: A TARS tethered to the ground.
(U.S. Customs and Border Protection / FOX Weather)
A helium-filled balloon measuring about 200 feet long and more than 60 feet wide, the TARS was located Wednesday on a ranch east of Dallas. This means the blimp was blown about 400 miles away from where it was originally tethered on the southern tip of Texas.
Footage of the crashed aircraft showed a crew tending to it as its white fabric exterior appeared torn and flopped over bare tree branches and power lines.
The TARS, crashed on a ranch in Quinlan, Texas.
(KDFW / FOX 4)
TARS are used on the southern border of the U.S. to track suspicious air traffic, according to CBP. The TARS site in South Padre Island is one of eight the CBP AMO operates along the southern border.