Ann Walden plays with her 15 month-old daughter Delphine while waiting in line after their flight to Baton Rouge was delayed at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Friday. 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.By JASON KEYSER
Associated Press
CHICAGO – A contract employee set fire at a suburban Chicago air traffic control center where he worked, bringing two of the nation’s busiest airports to a halt Friday, according to a criminal complaint.
Brian Howard, 36, of Naperville, Illinois, is charged with destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities, a felony. When paramedics found him, the criminal complaint says, he was trying to cut his own throat. The FBI said Howard remains hospitalized and no court date has been scheduled.
Delays and cancellations rippled through the air travel network from coast to coast after the fire. 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.