Thousands mistake US research aircraft N257TH for Chinese spy balloon
More than 4,000 users were following every move of “N257TH,” a standard high-altitude research balloon often released over the United States, according to FlightRadar24.
In response, the popular aircraft-tracking website said in a tweet on Saturday that it updated its label for the US balloon, adding that the object was “not a Chinese balloon.”
Reuters reported the balloon named HBAL617 with registration number N257TH belongs to Aerostar, an aerospace company based in South Dakota.
Pentagon says tracking Chinese spy balloon over US
“HBAL617 is an Aerostar Thunderhead Balloon that was launched from New Mexico [on] January 31 and is currently over the southeastern US,” Anastasia Quanbeck, Aerostar’s Culture and Communications Manager, said in an email.
“Aerostar has not had any balloons over the northwest part of the US in the last month.”
The balloon is part of a broader Chinese spying programme that’s seen many such devices sent over the US, including some during the Trump administration, according to officials in Washington.
03:06
Pentagon says it is tracking ‘Chinese spy balloon’ in US ahead of Blinken’s first trip to Beijing
Pentagon says it is tracking ‘Chinese spy balloon’ in US ahead of Blinken’s first trip to Beijing
The fate of the balloon, as it wafts 16km (10 miles) above ground, remains uncertain – as do the delicate relations between two superpowers grasping for ways to de-escalate tensions and get talks back on track.
Authorities in the city of Billings in southern Montana issued a statement refuting the veracity of a video purporting to show an explosion and the balloon crashing to the ground, after it went viral on Twitter and was shared by cable news networks.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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