The 2014 Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center fire was an incident in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

involving

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

at an

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

facility in

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Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

(also known as " Chicago Center"); the incident caused close to 2,000 airline flights to be grounded. One employee at the facility was treated for smoke inhalation, while 15 to 30 employees were evacuated. Brian Howard, an employee of

Harris Corporation Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology service (economics), services provider that produced wireless equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems, night vision device, night visi ...

, was charged in the incident. He made a guilty plea in federal court in May 2015, and in September of that year received a prison term of 12 1/2 years.

Timeline

On September 26, at approximately 5:20 am, Brian Howard had gained access to the basement of the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center (

ARTCC In air traffic control, an area control center (ACC), also known as a center or en-route center, is a facility responsible for controlling aircraft flying in the airspace of a given flight information region (FIR) at high altitudes between ai ...

) facility in Aurora, Illinois. Using gasoline-soaked rags, he then started a fire near the computer equipment critical to the facility's operations. This led to a loss of radar services and communications used by controllers to direct air traffic in the Chicago region, and thereby causing an evacuation of the building. Howard then attempted to commit suicide, but was stopped by emergency crews at the scene. By 6:00 am, a

ground stop A ground stop is an air traffic control procedure that requires all aircraft that fit certain criteria to remain on the ground. This could be airport-specific or perhaps equipment- or airspace-specific, depending on the exact event that caused ...

was implemented at the

Chicago O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the primary international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, United States, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business district. The airport is operated by the ...

as an emergency measure to alleviate traffic loads.

Aftermath

The fire caused substantial damage to the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) system, which allows Chicago Center to digitally share flight data throughout the National Airspace System (NAS). Because of the fire, much of the Chicago traffic that was normally handled by the Center was allocated to nearby

Terminal Radar Approach Control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled ai ...

(TRACON) facilities; this led to a 200 to 400 percent increase in flights handled by these locations. Because the TRACONs were designed primarily for the lower altitude approach and departure structure of the

National Airspace System The National Airspace System (NAS) is the airspace, navigation facilities and Airport, airports of the United States along with their associated information, services, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, personnel and equipment. It includes c ...

, the radar and communications capabilities did not extend to the higher altitudes used normally for cruise flight, restricting the remaining flights to lower, less efficient altitudes. Eventually this situation was improved by adjusting radar and communication equipment at the neighboring Centers around Chicago to regain capability. Controllers from Chicago then temporarily relocated to these Centers to aid in traffic control operations until repairs eventually brought the Aurora facility back online on October 13.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cicago Air Route Traffic Control Center fire 2014 in Chicago Arson in Illinois 2014 in aviation 2014 fires in the United States Aurora, Illinois Air traffic control in the United States Arson in 2014 Attacks on buildings and structures in 2014 History of air traffic control September 2014 crimes in the United States Attacks on transport buildings and structures Attacks on buildings and structures in Illinois 2010s crimes in Illinois