A Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down by an American fighter jet may have drifted into the mainland’s airspace at least partially by mistake, officials have revealed.
The US had tracked the balloon from its launch from China’s Hainan Island as it cruised across the Pacific Ocean before entering North American airspace above Alaska’s Aleutian islands on 28 January, according to The Washington Post. The publication spoke with intelligence officials briefed on the matter.
