PHOTO: The departures board at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport showed more and more on-time flights Wednesday. (Photo by Theresa Masek)
As the suspect who allegedly set fire to a federal air traffic control center outside Chicago on Friday made his first court appearance, the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday that air traffic was at about 80 percent of its normal capacity in and out of the Chicago airports.
Brian Howard, 36, appeared before a judge in the U.S. District Court in Chicago and was charged with destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities. Howard allegedly set fire to a federal air traffic control center in Aurora, Ill., 40 miles from O'Hare International Airport.
Enough damage was inflicted that nearly 3,000 fights were cancelled or delayed on Friday and Saturday as air traffic in and around Chicago was brought to a virtual standstill. Destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities is a felony that could carry a 20-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $250,000. He will remain at the Metropolitan Correction Center in Chicago until his next court appearance,
The FAA said that by mid-day Tuesday, almost 80 percent of the average Tuesday traffic for the past two months was flying in and out of O'Hare, and about 85 percent at Midway Airport.
"The FAA will continue to safely maximize efficiency of the airspace and work closely with airlines to provide predictability in arrival and departure rates," the agency said. "The FAA is closely monitoring the weather outlook in the Chicago area and is working with the airlines on weather-related contingency plans in anticipation of predicted thunderstorms in the region over the next several days."
The FAA said that cleaning crews and technicians are working around the clock at the damaged control center to finish cleaning the facility's ventilation system and other smoke-damaged areas, and to install new communications equipment, cabling, and the infrastructure to support it.
Workers have completed a seismic protection grid in the new telecommunications room and have started to install cabinets known as "racks" that house the new equipment. Technicians will continue to install new racks as they arrive and are also working on the extensive cabling necessary to connect the new equipment with other, undamaged systems in the building.
The FAA cautioned, however, that it doesn't expect to be fully 100 percent operational until Oct. 13.
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