It was shot down over shallow water to maximize the amount of wreckage they could study. Also, while international law is clearly on the US side shooting it down, I'm not sure if capturing it intact would be allowed. That might be air piracy or something. I am not an international lawyer.
> I'm not sure if capturing it intact would be allowed. That might be air piracy or something. I am not an international lawyer.
100% baseless speculation here. The US can, effectively, do whatever the hell it wants. Who's gonna tell us no? We invaded multiple sovereign countries over the past few decades and no one stopped us; you think anyone is gonna stop us doing anything to a balloon within our own airspace? And whatever happens afterwards is a matter for diplomacy, not international courts; there's no one who can enforce a ruling against the US (or China) like that. Welcome to the world of sovereign state actors, where might makes right.
