Fire at the Chicago ARTCC. Ground Stop at ORD and MDW [moved from Travel News]

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Looks like a full ground stop at ORD for a fire at ARTCC. NYCAviation is saying that it will last until 10AM CDT.


https://twitter.com/NYCAviation/stat...69421989875712 - Latest update from FAA

https://twitter.com/NYCAviation/stat...62437576146945
https://twitter.com/NYCAviation/stat...63568712806400
https://twitter.com/NYCAviation/stat...68252164919296 - Ground stop until 10AM CDT.

Update: Looks like a ground stop for the entire region affected by Chicago Center, the fire is not at the TRACON but ARTCC if mod's want to change title of post.
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Flights getting diverted, delayed & cancelled or rerouted according to Flightboard data feeds. Going to be a mess until it get sorted out as other facilities will be covering for the outage.
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Per http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...ing-helps.html will send to the appropriate destination forum while leaving a permanent re-direct in Travel News

cblaisd
Moderator, Travel News
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Fire grounds flights at Midway and O'Hare
Hmm...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...926-story.html
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Looks deliberate!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...926-story.html

BAD day to be traveling today
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Just heard that MDW is closed to departing flights until at least noon.

400+ flights cancelled so far at ORD as of 8:30 am.

Planes that will cross this part of the country cannot even take off until 10 am Central.
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Second time this year.... Wondering what is up down there since the site is close to me.

Hopefully it all works out, I think my father has to fly back to MDW or ORD today! (I cant remember where he flys to at times)
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Just read on HuffPo that fire was intentional:

"Authorities have found a man with "self-inflicted wounds" at an air traffic control center fire than has resulted in a complete ground-stop at Chicago and Detroit airports. Authorities believe the blaze was intentionally set, Aurora Police told WLS. It is not considered to be a terrorist attack. Two injured males were found in the building's basement, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The main suspect had burns and self-inflicted wounds, according to ABC News. The second injured person's wounds are not self-inflicted, said the Sun-Times. Authorities have not made public the nature of the man's self-inflicted wounds, but did say both have been rushed to nearby hospitals, the Chicago Tribune reported. It is believed the unidentified man tried to commit suicide, officials told CNN. He is being questioned for his role in the incident."
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Quote: Just heard that MDW is closed to departing flights until at least noon.
Southwest has cancelled everything up until 7pm this evening.
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I have a flight scheduled for later tonight.. was hoping it would be resolved by then, but it doesn't look good:

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/09/...lity-for-days/

Quote:
The damage done by a disgruntled contractor at the FAA radar facility in Aurora was so extensive that the center might not be operational for several days.

Investigators believe the man, who deals with computer systems in the building, had enough knowledge to strategically cause as much damage as possible to sabotage technical systems in the facility.
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Quote: I have a flight scheduled for later tonight.. was hoping it would be resolved by then, but it doesn't look good:

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/09/...lity-for-days/
This is definitely going to be a negative in his annual review.
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Quote: This is definitely going to be a negative in his annual review.
Except he'll show as "99% reliable" not too bad of a rating!
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Ugh, we are having a big party tomorrow, with at least 30 people flying in today. Those who booked on American, United or Delta are still making it in today, albeit with a delay. Those who booked on Southwest and Virgin America aren't making it at all.
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Quote: This is definitely going to be a negative in his annual review.
Quote: Except he'll show as "99% reliable" not too bad of a rating!
They'll just transfer him to the TSA. They will never know the difference.
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Quote:
Quote:
Originally Posted by milepig View Post
That's where I saw it. The paragraph says:

All the controllers have been put on administrative leave and are not to report to the facility for foreseeable future. They were told to call their supervisors on Monday for the latest instructions.
I can confirm this having just talked to a controller.
From the UA thread.. This is bad.. very bad
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