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Chicago flights stopped, area air traffic snarled after fire at FAA facility

Top Cat

Top Cat

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(CNN) -- Air travel for thousands of people across the country was thrown into disarray Friday morning after a fire closed a major Chicago-area air traffic control center that directs traffic across a large swath of the Midwest.
Mystery surrounded the interruption, as authorities reported not only that a fire closed the Federal Aviation Administration control center in Aurora, Illinois, but also that a man was found with self-inflicted wounds there.
Responders found a person suffering from cuts to at least one wrist, two law enforcement officials told CNN, citing initial reports from investigators. The person is being treated and questioned about the fire, which appears to have been intentionally set, the officials said. Investigators believe the person tried to commit suicide, the officials said.
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Chicago flights stopped after fire at FAA facility - CNN.com

Wow, one guy brings down air travel?
 
Dittohead not! said:
Holy (bleep!)

Accidental fire, or terrorist attack? Stay tuned, folks.....
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"The fire appears to have been deliberately set."

More of a mental breakdown/suicide attempt from what it sounds like, which from a Chicago ARTCC controller wouldn't surprise me. Those guys do not have an easy job.
 
Oh man, on a Friday no less. Think of all the weary business travelers trying to get home? What a cluster **** this would be.
 
i like Chicago, but i've never seen the traffic not snarled there. there are probably five times the number of cars that the roads were designed to handle.

it's a cool place and i really enjoy visiting, but you have to endure some real **** to get in. driving back and forth to work there would resemble hell.
 
Helix said:
i like Chicago, but i've never seen the traffic not snarled there. there are probably five times the number of cars that the roads were designed to handle.

it's a cool place and i really enjoy visiting, but you have to endure some real **** to get in. driving back and forth to work there would resemble hell.
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Flying in and out is worse. The airport is at capacity, the slightest foul up causes delays.

Fire at the ARTCC? This fouls up traffic for like a five state area.
 
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For all its warts, Chicago is a ****ing awesome town.
 
Top Cat said:
For all its warts, Chicago is a ****ing awesome town.
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i told the GF (speaking in transportation terms) that Chicago is like this ball of awesome surrounded by a ring of suck. there are ways to fix it, but they would be hugely expensive.

the only real solution i see given existing infrastructure is to control all traffic centrally with self driving cars. this would allow the existing infrastructure to handle the traffic better. my guess is that this will happen, but it could take half a century to implement.
 
Some disgruntled employee lit a fire.
 
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