Delays...Kanna Ortiz 4, waits in a line after her flight back home to New Jersey was delayed at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Picture: AP Source: AP ALL flights in and out of Chicago?s two airports were halted Friday after a fire at a suburban air traffic control facility sent delays and cancellations rippling through the U.S. air travel network.
Authorities said the blaze was intentionally set by a contract employee of the Federal Aviation Administration and had no ties to terrorism.
More than 850 flights had been cancelled in Chicago alone and many more were expected.
The early morning fire forced the evacuation of the control centre in Aurora, west of downtown Chicago.
Emergency crews found the man suspected of setting the fire in the basement, where the blaze began, with a self-inflicted wound. He was taken to a hospital.
Aurora Police Chief Gregory Thomas said the fire was not a terrorist act. The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and local police and fire departments were investigating.
When the centre was evacuated, management of the region’s airspace was transferred to other facilities, according to FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory.
Gap...This screen shot provided by FlightAware shows airline traffic over the United States after hundreds of flights out of Chicago were cancelled. Picture: AP Authorities said it was unclear how long the stoppage would last.
Aurora spokesman Dan Ferrelli gave no details on the suspect’s injury, but said in an emailed statement that it was not from a gunshot.
Another employee of the facility was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. The flames were extinguished by 7 am local time, said Ferrelli.
Online radar images showed a gaping hole in the US air traffic map over the upper Midwest.
At O’Hare’s Terminal 3, long lines formed at ticket counters as airlines continued to check in passengers.
Waiting by an American Airlines counter, Jon Sciarrini said his homebound flight to Dallas had been delayed, and he didn’t know whether he should wait or try to arrange another flight.
Fire...Security stands in front of the air traffic control facility in Aurora, after a fire set by an employee sent delays and cancellations rippling through the US air travel network. Picture: AP/Daily Herald “It’s pretty frustrating - a little like being in purgatory,” the IT specialist said.
It was the second time since May that a problem at one of the Chicago area’s major control facilities prompted a ground stop at O’Hare and Midway international airports.
In May, an electrical problem forced the evacuation of a regional radar facility in suburban Elgin. A bathroom exhaust fan overheated and melted insulation on some wires, sending smoke through the facility’s ventilation system and into the control room.
That site was evacuated for three hours, and more than 1100 flights were canceled.
The Aurora facility, known as an enroute center, handles aircraft flying at high altitudes, including those approaching or leaving Chicago airports. Air traffic closer to the airports is handled by a different facility and by the control towers located at the airfields.
A computer glitch at a similar facility on the West Coast in April forced a 45-minute shutdown at Los Angeles International Airport.
Waiting game...Dennis McCormack of Rockaway, New Jersey checks the departure board after his flight was canceled at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Picture: AP View the original article here
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