The Baltimore Sun:
The Army has received more than $300,000 in claims from a dozen people who say their property was damaged when one of the massive surveillance balloons anchored at Aberdeen Proving Ground escaped in October.
The payout requests await review by Army officials, spokesman Dov Schwartz said. He did not release details of the claims.
The unmanned balloon, which carries radar designed to spot airborne threats targeting Washington, broke free of its moorings Oct. 28 and drifted 160 miles north. It trailed 6,700 feet of cable as it traveled at an average speed of 40 miles per hour.
The military scrambled jets to track the errant aircraft, and people on the ground joined in the exercise, filling the Internet with photos and comments.
It snapped power lines as it floated across rural Pennsylvania, and communities along its path reported power outages. It finally came to rest in Moreland Township, north of Harrisburg.
Claims could increase. People have up to two years to file, Schwartz said, and PennLive.com reported that a Pennsylvania power company expects to lodge a request…
