Airline crews flying near Hawaii have been warned to watch for a “large white balloon” last spotted about 500 miles east of the Islands on Monday. The balloon has apparently been seen by several airline crews. “Report of large white balloon in the vicinity of 2639N15021W,” an ACARS issued Monday says. “Estimated to be between FL400 and FL500. Precise altitude unknown. Advise ATC if object is seen.” There’s been no word from the U.S. government about the sighting. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has released a selfie taken by a U-2 pilot monitoring the balloon that crossed North America two weeks ago.
The photo shows the shadow of the spy plane flying above the balloon, which was shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4. It’s one of three photos released by the military and show just how good a look they had before taking it out with a Sidewinder missile fired from an F-22. The selfie was leaked on Tuesday by a U-2 community blog called Dragon Lady Today and the Pentagon said it was real on Wednesday and added a couple more snaps.
