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If you want to kill yourself, you don't have to take out the whole damn air travel system

A mysterious fire. A possible suicide attempt. And hundreds of flights canceled. It all started with a fire in the basement of an FAA facility in the Chicago suburb of Aurora
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Those nut jobs Wayne and Garth are at it again.
 
Just announced that felony charges have been filed against a 36 year old man who was a contract worker at the Air Traffic Control Center where the fire occurred. He apparently used gasoline and possibly other accelerants to set three fires in the basement and stabbed himself multiple times. He's expected to recover.

Not even sure what to think about this. But it sure has inconvenienced a lot of people (myself included).

The skies have been so quiet - - it's somewhat reminiscent of 9/11/01 - - but fortunately not at all similar really.
 
the kicker, if it's true - according to one report, he was upset at the possibility that he was to be transferred to an air traffic control facility in Hawaii
 
moevillini said:
the kicker, if it's true - according to one report, he was upset at the possibility that he was to be transferred to an air traffic control facility in Hawaii
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Well, at least he won't have to spend any time in Hawaii now...

Mission Accomplished!
 
I was picking up my mom from the airport and I was wondering why all the Chicago flights were cancelled. Is there a link to this story?
 
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news...to-radar-facility-20140926-story.html#page=1

.

A communications contractor assigned to the Aurora FAA radar center set fire to the center, grounding more than 2,000 flights in Chicago today, as part of plan to “take out” the center and kill himself, according to a federal complaint against him.

Brian Howard, 36, of Naperville, remains hospitalized following the incident, and is charged with setting fire to and damaging an air navigation facility.

Just before he set the fire, Howard posted a Facebook message saying “Take a hard look in the mirror, I have. And this is why I am about to take out ZAU (the radar center) and my life…So I’m gonna smoke this blunt and move on, take care everyone,” according to an affidavit from an FBI agent filed as part of the complaint.
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He probably shouldn't have smoked that blunt. He might have had more success without it.
 
from the link above
[QUOTE ]...One of the paramedics and another emergency official followed the blood trail to where a floor panel had been pulled up, exposing telecommunications cables and other wires. They found a gas can and gas can nozzle and towels that looked as though they had been burned, and continued to follow the blood trail until they came to a knife and a lighter lying on the floor.

The paramedic then saw Howard’s feet sticking out from under a table, and saw Howard under the table, shirtless and in the act of cutting his own throat, according to the complaint. Howard also had knife wounds on his arms.

The paramedic pulled the knife from Howard, and the paramedic and the other emergency worker started to treat Howard, who told them “leave me alone,” according to the complaint...[/QUOTE]
 
Headed to Manchester UK by way of Chicago right now. Flight delayed 3+ hours. Good thing I always book this travel a full day earlier than I need to be there. They told us here in Reno that every flight at Chicago is delayed the same so we will still make our connections.





Thanks Obama!
 
LogGrad98 said:
Headed to Manchester UK by way of Chicago right now. Flight delayed 3+ hours. Good thing I always book this travel a full day earlier than I need to be there. They told us here in Reno that every flight at Chicago is delayed the same so we will still make our connections.





Thanks Obama!
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ALL HAIL emperor OBAMA
 
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-lawyer-for-suspect-in-faa-fire-asks-for-compassion-and-forgiveness-20140930-story.html#page=1

not sure exactly what I was expecting - but somehow he doesn't at all fit whatever profile I had started to make up in my mind...

Brian Howard has spent much of his adult life below the surface.

After high school, he spent three years as a machinist mate on a nuclear submarine in the Pacific. For the past eight years, he has worked as a telecommunications specialist in the basement of an FAA radar facility in Aurora.

Yet Howard shed his low profile in dramatic fashion last Friday, when authorities say he set fire to the radar facility after announcing his intentions via a rambling Facebook message.

“The outage I’m about to take should not take a large toll on the air space as all comms should be switched to the alt location which will most likely cause some delays,” Howard wrote in the post.

It turned out to be a wildly inaccurate prediction, as airlines have canceled thousands of flights since Friday and are still grappling with significant delays at both Chicago airports.

Howard’s Facebook message offers a glimpse into the 36-year-old contractor’s mindset minutes before the fire, as he complains about “lazy” government workers, belittles American foreign policy and apologizes to his family for what he’s about to do...

...With no criminal or record of political protest, Howard seemed an unlikely candidate to inconvenience hundreds of thousands of travelers across the country and expose vulnerabilities at the nation’s traffic control facilities.

Acquaintances describe him as a quiet man, a Northwest Indiana native who likes the White Sox, was proud of his military service and didn’t socialize much with the neighbors in his Naperville apartment complex.

His Facebook posting, however, suggested a growing disdain for government workers despite the fact he has spent much of his career – both directly as a seaman and indirectly, as a contractor – on the federal payroll.

Howard joined the Navy after graduating from high school in 1996, serving as machinist’s mate on the newly commissioned USS Connecticut. During a 4-year stint, he was awarded the Good Conduct Medal and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, according to military records....

...“WAKE UP!!” the post said. “This is a gov’t by the people, for the people and of the people which right now equates to immoral and unethical acts. That’s why terrorists and 3rd world nations hate us, because our tax dollars go to more unrest than rest. So we deserve the retribution from people who do not have the same ability for education, work and way of life.”

One of Howard’s relatives saw the message and immediately contacted Naperville police, according to authorities. Minutes after it was posted, a control center employee called 911 to report the fire....

...“Take a hard look in the mirror, I have,” Howard wrote in the post. “And this is why I am about to take out ZAU and my life. April, Pop, love you guys and I’m sorry. Leaving you with a big mess. Do your best to quickly move on from me please. Feel like I give a (expletive) for the first time in a long time again...but not for too long (haha!) So I’m gonna smoke this blunt and move on, take care everyone.”...
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I wonder if anyone in his family or that may have been close to him in any way had any inkling that he was in such a fragile state.
 
He failed killing himself and now will become a ''pants on the ground" type dude in jail. What a failure.
 
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