Днес сутринта пожар в трафик контрол център в Аврора стана причина да бъдат спрени полетите от и за Чикаго на всички летища в града, включително и на международното летище O’Hare International. Това не е първият случай за тази година. През месец май също имаше подобен инцидент.
Eто как местни медии отразяват случилото се:
Two people were injured at the regional FAA facility in Aurora, IL after fire activity forced a ground stop at O’Hare, Midway and other Chicago area airports this morning.
About 15 to 30 employees were evacuated from the traffic control center for the Great Lakes region. FAA Spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory said airspace management was transferred to adjacent air traffic facilities. Several flights were seen landing at O’Hare just after 7am, but the FAA says no flights will take off or land from Chicago airports until at least 8am. Southwest at Midway has suspended flights until noon on that airline.
Aurora fire crews and police responded to the report of the fire in the basement of the FAA facility, where radar processing equipment is kept, just before 5:45am this morning.
Aurora police said a man was found in the basement suffering from non-gunshot self-inflicted wounds. He was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Another employee, a man about 50 years old, was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene.
The fire was extinguished as of 7am. The radar equipment will have to be checked before operations can begin again.
It is the fifth-busiest air traffic control facility in the country, coordinating high-altitude flights over four states.
Passengers are encouraged to check the status of their flights at www.fly.faa.gov. Crowds were building at the airports with passengers hoping to rebook their flights.
In May, a small fire at the air traffic control center in Elgin forced a ground stop at O’Hare and Midway for several hours, our sister station WLS reports. A fan in a bathroom was inadvertently turned back on after a malfunction, which caused the control room to fill with smoke. Employees were sent to the facility in Aurora to continue working in that incident. /www.abc13.com/
