Worried that the large crowds at Balloon Fiesta could pose a security risk? Don’t be.
“Starting Balloon Fiesta weekend, there is going to be an aircraft in the sky over Albuquerque with equipment so advanced the government uses it for both disasters and inaugurations.
It has been developed by the top minds at the Environmental Protection Agency and FEMA: the Airborne Spectral Photographic Environmental Collection Technology or the ASPECT plane.
Albuquerque air monitoring supervisor Ken Lienemann got a first hand look at it.
"They fly back and forth and back and forth and they map the whole area and see if anything glows," Lienemann said.
He is not kidding.
The powerful technology on board can spot the most dangerous weapons in a sea of thousands of people.
"Radioactive material that could be at the right time exploded with conventional explosives and make sort of a dirty bomb," Lienemann continued.
Why Balloon Fiesta?
Lienemann said the sheer number of visitors is reason enough and it is a big part of why the plane exists.
"They use it for events like Superbowls…probably inaugural events…any place where there's going to be a lot of press coverage and a lot of people who could be exposed to the hazard," Lienemann said.
Lienemann also said the ASPECT plane will be patrolling the skies everyday during Balloon Fiesta with some of the most brilliant people around at the helm.
"A couple of Ph.D scientists and retired navy pilots…they're all experts in what they do," he said. This is not the first time the ASPECT plane has been used at the event, but the crew will still have quite a responsibility. The city is expecting upwards of 800,000 people showing up to this year's Balloon Fiesta.”
Read more at http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s2305534.shtml
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