4:18
- ABC News
- December 12, 2018
Military plane likely caused blip in weather radar
Fort Campbell and Scott Air Force Base denied that the C-130 came from there.
4:18
The NWS later determined that \"the leading theory\" for the cause of the blip was chaff from an aircraft, which is a stream or cloud of radar-jamming material such as thin aluminum that is often used as a countermeasure during combat.
The leading theory is chaff that originated in far southern Richland County IL around 2:50 PM this afternoon. Here is a 6.5 hour loop.... pic.twitter.com/eVwEbLVsQ7
— NWS Paducah (@NWSPaducah) December 11, 2018
Wayne Hart, meteorologist for ABC Evansville, Indiana, affiliate WEHT, tweeted that the chaff came from a military C-130 northwest of Evansville, citing an unnamed pilot who was given the information from the Evansville air traffic control.
Information from a pilot appears to confirm that chaff was the mysterious radar echo that traversed #tristatewx late Monday afternoon/evening. Pilot was told by EVV Air Traffic Control that chaff was released by a military C130 northwest of Evansville. @NWSPaducah
— Wayne Hart (@Wayne_C_Hart) December 11, 2018
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/hercules-plane-gty-er-181212_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
The two military bases nearest to where the blip occurred denied that the C-130 came from their premises.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/fort-campbell-gty-er-181212_hpEmbed_20x13_384.jpg\")
Major Martin Meiners, public affairs officer for the 101st Airborne Division for Fort Campbell in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, told ABC News that there are no units at that base that fly C-130s.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/air-force-ap-er-181212_hpEmbed_8x5_384.jpg\")
A spokesman for Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County told the Evansville Courier & Press that the plane did not come from that base, either.
A representative for the Air Force did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
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