The U.S. military used an F-22 fighter jet to shoot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coastline on Saturday. The balloon went down in the Atlantic Ocean after flying across the country at an altitude of 60,000 feet.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered three airports in North and South Carolina to be shut down to clear airspace for the operation.
The balloon, reported to be the size of three city buses, was seen Tuesday over Montana and Wyoming, and it was later spotted over northeast Kansas and Missouri.
President Biden said he ordered the Pentagon to shoot down the balloon on Wednesday, but military officials were concerned about debris falling to the ground, causing casualties and property damage. The Pentagon had said there was no threat from the balloon. China said it was a civilian craft that was gathering weather information, but Pentagon officials were confident that it was conducting a surveillance operation, and they said steps were taken to prevent any access to sensitive information.
A similar balloon was seen over South America later in the week.
[ photo: Chase Doak via Reuters ]
