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Fire at air traffic center halts Chicago flights

This screen shot provided by FlightAware shows airline traffic at 10:20 a.m. EDT over the United States Friday, Sept. 26, 2014, after hundreds of flights were canceled at Chicago airports, at center, following a fire at a suburban Chicago air traffic control facility. The ground stop threatened to send delays and cancellations rippling throughout the nation's air travel network, as more than 500 flights had already been canceled in Chicago and more were expected. (AP Photo/Courtesy FlightAware)
This screen shot provided by FlightAware shows airline traffic at 10:20 a.m. EDT over the United States Friday, Sept. 26, 2014, after hundreds of flights were canceled at Chicago airports, at center, following a fire at a suburban Chicago air traffic control facility. The ground stop threatened to send delays and cancellations rippling throughout the nation's air travel network, as more than 500 flights had already been canceled in Chicago and more were expected. (AP Photo/Courtesy FlightAware) This screen shot provided by FlightAware shows airline traffic at 10:20 a.m. EDT over the United States Friday, Sept. 26, 2014, after hundreds of flights were canceled at Chicago airports, at center, following a fire at a suburban Chicago air traffic control facility. The ground stop threatened to send delays and cancellations rippling throughout the nation's air travel network, as more than 500 flights had already been canceled in Chicago and more were expected. (AP Photo/Courtesy FlightAware)

By Associated Press 3 min read

CHICAGO (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 nation’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 canceled in Chicago alone and many more were expected.

The early morning fire forced the evacuation of the control center in Aurora, about 40 miles 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 center was evacuated, management of the region’s airspace was transferred to other facilities, according to FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory.