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Emanuel Blasts FAA For Lack Of Backup For Crippled Air Traffic Center

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he's frustrated that scores of flights are still being canceled at O'Hare International Airport, because of fire damage at a Federal Aviation Administration radar center in Aurora, caused by a disgruntled contractor last week.

Thousands of flights have been canceled since Friday, when contract worker Brian Howard allegedly set fire to transmission lines in the basement of the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) in Aurora, crippling the air traffic control facility.

WBBM Newsradio Political Editor Craig Dellimore reports O'Hare is a major economic engine for the city and a significant hub for airline traffic nationwide, and the mayor said his first concern is getting it and the damaged FAA facility fully operational.

"Over the weekend, I was on the phone with FAA, telling them they have to get this open, up and running," he said. "Once that task is done – and they're on their way to it, not at 100 percent yet, they've got to get there – they then have to analyze what happened, how could this happen, and how could you have an airport that is so integral to the national and the international system with no backup capacity that one individual can have this impact?"

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FAA officials have said the ARTCC in Aurora likely won't be repaired and fully operational until Oct. 13. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta is scheduled to be at the Aurora center this Friday, accompanied by Senator Dick Durbin and perhaps other elected officials to check on their progress.

Meantime, air traffic facilities in five states have been helping pick up the slack, but O'Hare and Midway International Airport both have had continuing delays and cancellations since Friday, though both are running closer to full capacity than the weekend.

The FAA said O'Hare recorded about 80 percent of its average Tuesday traffic this Tuesday, while Midway was slightly better at 85 percent normal capacity.

"Task A: get it up and running. Task B: take a deep breath, and get immediately studying what is it you need to do so you can't have one individual – for whatever reasons; upset employee or employer – take down a system and we have no capacity as a city, or more importantly city and country, to deal with this," Emanuel said.

The mayor said the good news is FAA crews have been working around the clock to fix the problems, and get the ARTCC running as soon as possible.

The FAA has launched a full security review to determine what changes might be needed to prevent such an incident in the future. The agency also has said it is working on new flight tracking technology using satellites instead of ground-based radar.

Howard has been charged with destruction of aircraft facilities, and ordered held without bond. Authorities said he intentionally set a fire in the basement telecommunications area of the ARTCC in Aurora before trying to kill himself by slashing his arms and throat.

Howard, a Navy veteran, had recently been told that he would be transferred to Hawaii and reportedly was disgruntled. He had worked for the Harris Corp. for the past eight years, modernizing communications equipment at FAA facilities but was fired after the arson incident.

Defense attorney Ronald Safer indicated his client's actions were a cry for help. He said Howard deeply regrets the air traffic disruption caused in the course of a suicide attempt.

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