O'Hare outages renew calls for a better backup.(News)

0 Comments | Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), December, 2006 | by Ryan, Joseph

Byline: Joseph Ryan Daily Herald Staff Writer A nearly eight-hour radar outage at O'Hare International Airport Friday that canceled flights and caused substantial delays focused criticism on the federal government's decision to leave the nation's busiest airport without a full backup system.

O'Hare's radar system was down from 3:30 a.m. to about 9 a.m. and then again from 9:30 a.m. to about 11:30 a.m. as the result of two separate switch failures, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. At least 20 flights were canceled, and delays reached 45 minutes into the afternoon. Such long outages are rare. "I have been begging for 15 years for a backup radar at O'Hare," said Ray Gibbons, National Air Traffic Controllers Association representative at...