Chicago Center Fire

Jesus, what a hell of a day. Coming in from BUF super early this morning when center comes on and us all like "Um, Mercury? yeah you might want to slow down or something, we just lost contact with Chicago."

Yeah exact words. WTF! Ended up diverting to CMH, sitting there for a couple of hours then heading on in to ORD by leapfrogging from one TRACON to another. Then had to do a YUL turn. All flights home cancelled, so I guess we will see how crappy it is in the morning.
 
FBI: Suspect sent Facebook message: 'I am about to take out' FAA facility

(CNN) -- The man accused of setting a fire in an air traffic control center, causing the shutdown of operations at Chicago O'Hare International and nearby Midway Airport, sent a private Facebook message to a relative just before he started the blaze, the FBI says in an affidavit.

"Take a hard look in the mirror, I have," the message said, according to the affidavit. "And this is why I am about to take out ZAU [the three-letter identification for the control center] and my life. ... So I'm gonna smoke this blunt and move on, take care everyone."

Story Here: http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/26/travel/chicago-ohare-midway-flights-stopped/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
 
fholbert said:
FBI: Suspect sent Facebook message: 'I am about to take out' FAA facility
(CNN) -- The man accused of setting a fire in an air traffic control center, causing the shutdown of operations at Chicago O'Hare International and nearby Midway Airport, sent a private Facebook message to a relative just before he started the blaze, the FBI says in an affidavit.

"Take a hard look in the mirror, I have," the message said, according to the affidavit. "And this is why I am about to take out ZAU [the three-letter identification for the control center] and my life. ... So I'm gonna smoke this blunt and move on, take care everyone."

Story Here: http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/26/travel/chicago-ohare-midway-flights-stopped/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
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If the government was allowed to inspect every single piece of our lives and communications unfettered, this wouldn't have happened.

fholbert said:
Couple scars in the mountains east of San Diego made by jet pilots thinking the same thing.
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The reason they hit the mountains was not because they departed VFR.
 
fholbert said:
Yes it was. Both came out of KSDM, Brown Field.
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Um, no, the operating rules have nothing to do with not having situational awareness and using best practices like flying the ODP anyways. I'd love to read the NTSB report on the accidents. Do you know tail numbers or something identifying?
 
z987k said:
Um, no, the operating rules have nothing to do with not having situational awareness and using best practices like flying the ODP anyways. I'd love to read the NTSB report on the accidents. Do you know tail numbers or something identifying?
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Not off hand but I've read them a couple times. Easy to find.

One was half of Reba McEntire's band.
 
gne in prog said:
Transferred from Chicago to Hawaii? Surely the article is a typo and should have read he did it because he wasn't transferred.
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You never know, maybe he was from Chicago. Hawaii is a nice place, but you never know what he was leaving behind in Chicago.

What doesn't make sense to me is he smoked an entire blunt and then wanted to kill himself and catch the building on fire? I'd think he'd give up on the whole idea, put on some Netflix, and go eat a cheeseburger at that point. Or have an anxiety attack, that's a lot of ganja.
 
z987k said:
Um, no, the operating rules have nothing to do with not having situational awareness and using best practices like flying the ODP anyways. I'd love to read the NTSB report on the accidents. Do you know tail numbers or something identifying?
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Rule #1: Do not impact the terrain.

Rule #2: You do not talk about Fight Club.

But seriously, there's no reason to hit a mountain in an airplane with TAWS-B or better. None. If you do, you either:

Had it inhibited (which is kind of stupid)

Didn't listen to it (which is kind of hard)

Went beyond the point of no return (which is what people who are inexperienced or overly aggressive do).
 
I just talked to a buddy that said that Chicago Center controllers are being relocated to various approach control facilities around the area, and are going to handle "center" from various outstations. Looking at flight aware for tonight, looks like lots of big planes are being kept below 18,000' and handed from approach to approach.

Anyone have any idea how long this is expected to last?
 
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