Safety Fears Halt Blimp Smuggler-Spotting Test

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. on Friday canceled its agreement to lend the government a blimp to spy on drug smugglers, saying “premature publicity” had created safety risks for the crew and reduced chances of conducting a meaningful test.

The cancellation occurred shortly after The Times reported that Goodyear had agreed to let federal customs agents ride in a company blimp down the Texas Gulf Coast during a one-week test of new techniques to spot drug smugglers’ boats.

The story, widely distributed by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service, said U.S. Customs and Goodyear were concerned that publicity about the test would make the low-flying, slow-moving blimp a target for sharpshooters.

A customs spokesman had said that agents would shoot back if fired on.

Thomas B. Riley, manager of airship operations for Goodyear, said in a statement that, because of the “widespread publicity,” it would be “difficult to get any meaningful reading on the ability of airships to contribute to the detection of drug-smuggling operations.”

Moreover, Riley said: “The speculation about whether there would be a shoot-out between government agents and drug runners raises serious questions about whether there could be a safe test.”