- A hobby club in the US has on his blog reported one of their balloons missing.
- This after the US Air Force shot down several unidentified flying objects.
- Amateur high-altitude balloons could therefore be an explanation for the unidentified flying objects shot down over North America.
US President Joe Biden dispelled speculation on Thursday that the unidentified flying objects were linked to China’s spy balloon program. They were most likely on the road for research purposes. However, its actual origin has not yet been clarified.
Now a possible lead has opened up. The American balloon club “Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade” (NIBBB) reported their balloon with the identifier “K9YO” missing in a blog post. According to one Report from «Aviation Week» the amateur high-altitude balloon reported its last position on the west coast of Alaska on February 10 (local time).
The report suggests US Air Force may have shot down the balloon over the Yukon Territory the following day. Thus, the trajectory and altitude predictions would match the location of the February 11 launch. The balloon club does not talk about a possible launch of their balloon.
NIBBB balloons are small, commercially available balloons that can rise to great heights. Thanks to radio transmitters, the club can follow the trajectories around the world. According to Aviation Week, such an amateur high-altitude balloon costs between 12 and 180 US dollars.
According to the report, the dominant suspicion in the balloon hobbyist community is that all three craft shot down over North America could have been such balloons. Various US media have therefore asked the authorities – without success. You have not commented on this until now.
John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, said on Wednesday that the flying objects “could have a commercial or benign purpose”.