Man asked deputies if he could shoot down blimp

Two hours before a blimp crashed near the U.S. Open at Erin Hills, a man called Washington County sheriff’s deputies to complain about the aircraft scaring his cattle and asking if he could “shoot it down.”

The Sheriff’s Office confirmed Tuesday it received the complaint from a property owner near the private airstrip where the blimp was launched and said there is no reason to believe the man was connected to the crash “in any way.”

In the initial call at 8:53 a.m. June 15, the man was concerned the blimp was violating permits or regulations. Near the end of the call, he asked if he could “... shoot it down,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The dispatcher told the man no and said a deputy was coming to meet him.

“The question was asked in a sarcastic manner but could be construed as a vague threat,” the agency said in a news release.

The deputy met with the man and determined he was not a threat to the aircraft.

The blimp crashed about 11:15 a.m. and investigators “were almost immediately assigned to locate and interview the complainant from earlier in the morning” and the man “denied any involvement in the aircraft crash.”

Based on evidence at the crash site, witnesses and other information, “foul play” is not suspected in the crash of the aircraft, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating after the blimp deflated, burst into flames and crashed near Highways 83 and 167, about a mile from the Erin Hills golf course. Thousands of people were gathered at the course for the first morning of competition in the U.S. Open.

The aircraft was operated by AirSign and was advertising for PenFed Credit Union.

The pilot, Trevor Thompson, was the only occupant of the aircraft and no one on the ground was injured. Thompson was treated for serious injuries, including burns, at Froedtert Hospital. The hospital said he was in serious condition.

Officers reported the aircraft had reached an altitude of about 1,000 feet before Thompson decided to land because of high winds. As he was descending, he heard panels rip off the air balloon and blimp hybrid that he was flying. He then turned the engines off, but residual fuel in the engines is what led to the fiery explosion that followed once the aircraft hit the ground.