WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Army has denied all the damage claims it received after an experimental blimp broke free and crashed in central Pennsylvania in October 2015.

After an investigation, the Army determined that no government employee, agency or entity was responsible or negligent in the breakaway of the aerostat balloon from its tether at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, spokesman Dov Schwartz said Friday.

Because of this, the Army formally denied the 35 property damage claims, totaling $1,572,352, that were submitted, he said.

Claimants may still sue the Army or Raytheon, the company the Army says was responsible for the installation and maintenance of the tethering systems, Swartz said.

The 243-foot-long blimp containing sophisticated surveillance equipment broke loose from its mooring on Oct. 28, 2015.

A tether more than a mile long caused the damage as the aerostat, as the Army calls it, descended in central Pennsylvania and crashed in western Montour County.

Security concerns as the aerostat was retrieved caused disruptions for nearby residents.

The aerostat was part of a three-year Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) exercise to assess its ability to contribute to the North American Aerospace Defense Command cruise missile defense.

The program was suspended following the incident.

The letter sent to claimants states that Raytheon was required to provide maintenance support to systems that failed and led to the aerostat breaking away.

"Army personnel did not perform or oversee the installation and maintenance of these systems," it states.

Investigators determined a malfunction of a pressure-sensing device caused the aerostat to become unstable. The increase in wind drag and subsequent loss of aerodynamic efficiency increased the tether tension to the point it broke, they said.

The Army never provided details on the individual claims, but PPL Electric Utilities confirmed it submitted one to cover the cost of repairing lines snapped by the tether, cutting power to 35,000 customers in Columbia, Montour and Schuylkill counties.

PPL will continue to pursue reimbursement, according to spokesman Paul Wirth, but he declined to say how it plans to do so. He also would not provide the amount of the utility's claim.