FAA presses for more funding after Illinois fire review

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Monday that it could have rebounded from a suburban Chicago air traffic control facility that was damaged in a fire in September if Congress had approved more money for the agency. 

The finding was revealed in a 30-day review of the FAA’s handling of the Aurora, Ill., fire, which resulted in nearly 4,000 flights to airports in the Chicago area being delayed during the final weekend in September. 

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said Monday that the agency got the Aurora facility back on line as quickly as it could have under the agency’s current budgetary constraints. 

{mosads}But Foxx said the delays could have been minimized further if the FAA had more flexibility in its contingency plans. 

“The FAA ensured planes and passengers landed safely when disaster struck, that was the top priority and we did it,” Foxx said in a statement. “But we can and will improve our contingency plans for efficiency. We have a national infrastructure deficit facing our nation from which the national aviation system is not immune. The FAA needs a stable and reliable funding stream to fully implement NextGen, which will further reduce delays and service disruptions.”

The Aurora fire was caused by an FAA employee on Sept. 26 in an apparent suicide attempt. 

FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said Monday that the FAA proposal to convert air traffic control from World War II-era radar technology to a satellite-based system known as NextGen would make it easier for the national aviation network to withstand incidents like the Aurora fire. 

“We hope to never see an event like this again,” Huerta said in a statement. “But, we must be prepared. The capabilities delivered through NextGen will allow us to maintain the highest levels of safety and restore normal operations quickly as a result of a major event like the one at Chicago Center.”

The FAA reopened the Aurora facility in the middle of October after shifting personnel to nearby facilities for about two weeks.