2014 Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center fire

The 2014 Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center fire was an incident in the United States involving arson[1] at an air traffic control facility in Aurora, Illinois[2] (also known as "Chicago Center");[3] the incident caused close to 2,000 airline flights to be grounded.[4] One employee at the facility was treated for smoke inhalation, while 15 to 30 employees were evacuated.[5]

Brian Howard,[6] an employee of Harris Corporation,[7] was charged in the incident.[8] 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.[9]

  1. ^ "Chicago air traffic halted over fire at FAA facility". 26 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  2. ^ "Man faces charges in FAA facility fire - CNN.com". CNN. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  3. ^ "FBI: Contract worker set fire at FAA center, tried to kill himself". chicagotribune.com. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  4. ^ Aamer Madhani; Ben Mutzabaugh; William Spain & USA TODAY (26 September 2014). "Chicago flights grounded after fire at FAA radar facility". Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  5. ^ Goldstein, Sasha (26 September 2014). "Illinois man charged in fire at Chicago air traffic control center". New York Daily News. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  6. ^ "Fire at air-traffic center disrupts 1,800 flights". Yahoo News. 27 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  7. ^ "Chicago-area air traffic center fire grounds 1,750 flights". Yahoo News. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  8. ^ "Contract Employee Charged in Fire That Grounded Chicago Flights". ABC News. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Man gets 12 years in prison for air-traffic facility fire". Associated Press. September 11, 2015. Retrieved on March 18, 2024.