Florida Highway Patrol launched into high alert this week after a barrage of 911 calls from motorists who swore they\u2019d just spotted a truck hauling a full payload of missiles down the highway.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were definitely concerned,\u201d FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins told The Post of the March 22 incident.<\/p>\n
The situation escalated quickly when a trooper, already locked and loaded with a description of a blue pickup traveling along Interstate 4, spotted the vehicle.<\/p>\n
Michael Nipper got stopped by Florida Highway Patrol troopers after alarmed motorists called 911 after spotting a blue pickup truck with missiles in the back. Florida Highway Patrol<\/p>\n
The officer quickly moved in to intercept it.<\/p>\n
The driver, Michael Nipper from nearby Tampa, said he wasn\u2019t shocked about getting stopped. The rockets look dangerous \u2014 but aren\u2019t military weapons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI figured right away why they were pulling me over,\u201d Nipper, 69, told The Post. \u201cBut I knew the rockets weren\u2019t dangerous or illegal so I showed them to the officer and explained that they were hobby rockets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Model rockets are miniature versions of the real thing that people build and launch for fun, according to NASA<\/a>. They\u2019re made from lightweight materials like plastic or balsa wood, and the engines are pre-packaged and come with the kit. They typically fly between 300 and 2,500 feet and land with a small parachute.<\/p>\n Nipper, a longtime rocket enthusiast, explained to cops he\u2019s part of local groups that regularly gather to have fun, put on exhibitions or teach kids about basic aeronautics.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been doing it since the \u201990s,\u201d he said, adding he\u2019s a member of the National Association of Rocketry<\/a>.<\/p>\n The \u201cmissiles\u201d in the back of Michael Nippers truck turned out to be hobby rockets, but they looked real enough that the FHP called in the bomb squad to inspect them. Florida Highway Patrol<\/p>\n Still, the traffic stop changed trajectory when the cop spotted a label reading \u201c15 lbs. of explosives\u201d with a \u201cload weight of 45 lbs.\u201d engraved on the side of one of the rockets, the officer later wrote in the report<\/a>.<\/p>\n That set off alarm bells, prompting a call to superiors \u2014 and ultimately, the bomb squad.<\/p>\n