El Paso Airspace shutdown

[Kent Madsen]

LASER BLAST

Late Tuesday night, the F.A.A. shut down the airspace around El Paso for 10 days, citing “special security reasons” — without explaining what that meant. The move surprised airlines, travelers and even others in the federal government.

By yesterday morning, though, the restrictions were gone. And The Times learned the reason for the shutdown: Customs and Border Protection had fired a high-energy anti-drone laser, on loan from the Pentagon, without giving aviation officials time to assess the risks to commercial airlines.

The target of the laser? According to people familiar with the matter, it was a party balloon that the military thought was a cartel drone.

(From the New York Times)

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Kent Madsen                                                                   kent....@gmail.com
Santa Cruz, California