FAA to review facilities after Chicago air-traffic snarl
Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Michael Huerta speaks Nov. 5, 2013, during a news conference at the Transportation Department in Washington.(Photo: Cliff Owen, AP)
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a 30-day review Monday of safety and security at agency facilities, after a contract worker allegedly set a fire at a regional air-traffic control center Friday that has forced the cancellation of more than 3,500 flights from the busy Chicago hub and continues to disrupt flights.
"Regardless of the extraordinary conditions we are dealing with though, I do understand the traveling public's frustrations with flight delays and cancellations," FAA Administrator Michael Huerta told the Air Traffic Control Association. "I want to make sure that we have the most robust contingency plans possible."
Huerta said FAA expects the Chicago center to be fully restored by Oct. 13. The review will be coordinated with two of the workers' unions, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association and the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, to review emergency plans. The review will also cover security for FAA facilities "to make sure we have the most robust policies and practices in place."
TODAY IN THE SKY:Chicago flight woes spill into Monday
"I want to make sure we have all the tools in place to get our airspace back up and running as quickly as possible," Huerta said. "I've asked the team to think as creatively as possible and make recommendations to me about our preparedness going forward."
Despite the continuing problems, service had improved dramatically since Friday, when a contractor with the FAA allegedly set a blaze at a regional radar facility in Aurora, Ill., that almost completely shut down air travel in and out of one of the nation's busiest travel hubs.
Nearly half of O'Hare's flights Friday and almost 70% of Midway's were canceled Friday. Southwest, which flies more passengers domestically than any other carrier, axed its entire schedule at Midway and Milwaukee on Friday. More than 3,500 flights have been grounded at Chicago's O'Hare International and Midway International airports since early Friday. The effect of those cancellations rippled across the country because Chicago is such a busy hub.
On Monday, more than 400 flights had been canceled at O'Hare by 8:50 a.m. ET, according to FlightAware.com, a flight-tracking service. That represents about 15% of the Monday schedule at O'Hare.
Air-traffic controllers at other facilities in the region took over for the crippled Aurora center. Controllers are handling high-altitude air-traffic centers near Minneapolis, Kansas City, Mo.; Indianapolis and Cleveland to minimize disruptions for travelers.
"We are steadily increasing the amount of air traffic we can handle in the air space around Chicago, and we are trying to reach as close to normal operations as quickly as possible," Huerta said. "Yesterday, air traffic controllers safely managed about 60% of typical traffic at O'Hare and more than 75% at Midway."
Huerta said the day after the fire, the FAA created direct phone lines between all four regional centers that handle flights above 18,000 feet in the air with local Chicago controllers.
"When controllers handle a departure or arrival there's a lot of coordination that has to happen, for example if there's a go-around," Huerta said. "This ability to communicate directly has helped us increase capacity."
Huerta said the fire also disrupted the FAA's ability to exchange flight-plan data between the Chicago/Aurora center and its four neighboring centers.
The arrival and departure display at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport shows a list of cancelled flights on Saturday.(Photo: Scott Olson, Getty Images)
"We had been typing in the flight plan info for each plane and printing it out on a strip for the en route controllers," Huerta said. "We've been able to automate much of this, and it has significantly improved our throughput as well."
Brian Howard, 36, was charged with destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities. Howard was discovered in the basement of the Aurora air-traffic control center with self-inflicted stab wounds, attempting to cut his own throat.
An affidavit filed in advance of a criminal complaint said Howard had worked at the Aurora facility for eight years and found out recently that he would be transferred to Hawaii. He went to the FAA facility early Friday morning, and roughly 30 minutes later posted what appeared to be a suicide note on Facebook.
"One of our technical operations employees suffered from smoke inhalation and was treated at the scene," Huerta said. "We are thankful that he is OK. He went back to work soon thereafter."
To restore the Aurora control center, damaged communications equipment needs to be replaced entirely and the space will be reconfigured and moved to a different floor, to house new equipment, Huerta said.
"We have brought in our best technicians from around the country to expedite the replacement of the central communications network at the Chicago center," Huerta told the Air Traffic Control Association's 59th annual conference and exposition in National Harbor, Md.
Huerta said a key to avoiding flight disruptions is updating the air-traffic control system with satellite-based control, rather than ground-based radar, and more electronic communications, under a 20-year program called NextGen.
Congressional budget fights left FAA funding uncertain, after a one-week furlough last year and funding in place now through Dec. 11. But Huerta said more reliable funding would allow development of NextGen, which would enable FAA to react faster to an emergency like the Chicago fire.
Better equipment would allow control centers to "see" farther than their traditional boundaries. Better communication between control centers would allow them to hand off to each other more easily.
"With NextGen capabilities fully operational, we will be able to provide many more options for rapidly reconfiguring our facilities," Huerta said.
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