Fire at air-traffic center halts travel via Chicago

CHICAGO - A contract employee suspected of setting a fire at a suburban Chicago air-traffic control center brought two of the nation's busiest airports to a halt Friday, sending delays and cancellations rippling through the air-travel network from coast to coast.

The worker was found with multiple self-inflicted knife wounds and burns, and authorities quickly ruled out any ties to terrorism. But the ground stoppage at O'Hare and Midway airports immediately raised questions about whether the Federal Aviation Administration has adequate backup plans to keep planes moving when a single facility has to shut down.

Brian Howard, 36, of Naperville, Ill., was charged Friday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with one count of destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities, a felony offense, an FBI spokeswoman said. Howard remains hospitalized, the FBI said, and no court date has been scheduled.

By late afternoon, about 1,950 flights in and out of Chicago had been canceled. A few flights resumed around midday, after a nearly five-hour gap. No one could be sure when full service would be restored, officials said.

The early-morning fire forced evacuation of the control center in Aurora, about 40 miles west of downtown. It was the second unexpected shutdown of a Chicago-area air-traffic facility since May.

Emergency crews found the suspect in the basement, where the blaze began. It was unclear whether he had intended to commit suicide, said Thomas Ahern, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which was taking part in the investigation.

The 36-year-old employee worked for the FAA contractor that supplies and maintains communications systems at air-traffic facilities, said Jessica Cigich, a spokeswoman for the union that represents FAA technicians.

When the center was evacuated, management of the region's airspace was transferred to other facilities, FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said.

But hours after the ordeal began, the region's air traffic was still a mess. The Aurora facility - which had become a crime scene - remained shut down.

"This is a nightmare scenario when we thought systems were in place to prevent it," said aviation analyst Joseph Schwieterman of DePaul University in Chicago. ". . . I think the FAA's going to find itself under a microscope."

The disruption was also likely to deliver a financial hit to airlines, Schwieterman said.

An FAA spokeswoman in Chicago did not respond to a request for comment about the agency's backup planning.

In May, an electrical problem forced the evacuation of a regional radar facility in suburban Elgin.