Pilot Said He Experienced Problems With An Engine Mount

The pilot of a homebuilt blimp was forced to land on an Interstate highway median just south of Ardmore, Oklahoma Tuesday, but it is not clear if the pilot is licensed to fly the airship.

Multiple local media sources, including Oklahoma television station KTEN, report that Marvin Polzein, who built the blimp, was flying it over Carter County Oklahoma late Tuesday when he experienced an engine problem and the blimp began spinning. He told the station his only option was to land in the median of the highway.

The northbound lanes were closed briefly as the Oklahoma Highway Patrol moved the blimp from the median to a different location.

It's the second time Polzein had made a forced landing with the airship, and United Press International reports an earlier version of the aircraft took off unmanned in May, drifting 110 miles before crashing in Decatur, Texas (sound familiar?).

FAA spokesperson Lynn Lunsford said the agency is working to determine whether Polzein has a licence to operate an airship, and whether the aircraft should be classified as "commercial." Polzein had emblazoned the side of the airship with the name of the hotel he operates in Ardmore.

FMI: www.faa.gov