Contractor Charged With Setting 2014 Fire at Aurora Air Traffic Control Center: FEDS

The scene at an air traffic control center in Aurora the morning of Sept. 26, 2014. | Photo credit: CBS News

A Naperville man accused of setting a September 2014 fire at an Aurora air traffic facility was formally charged in a accused of setting fire to a federal air traffic control facility that canceled hundreds of flights.

Brian Howard, 37, was formally charged in U.S. District Court with one count of willfully setting fire to, damaging, and destroying or disabling an air navigation facility. He was also charged with one count of using fire to commit a federal felony. Both counts are federal felonies.

Howard, who appeared in federal court on May 1, has been held in federal custody since his arrest.

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According to the federal complaint, Howard was a contracted telecommunications employee at the Federal Aviation Agency facility located at 619 West Indian Trail, Aurora. The facility controls the airspace over parts Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan, including providing air traffic control services for metropolitan Chicago and Milwaukee. According to the FAA, the Aurora control center handles about 3 million flights annually.

During the pre-dawn hours of Sept. 26, 2014, at 5:06 a.m., federal prosecutors said that Howard entered the Aurora control center using his FAA-issued credentials and carrying a Pelican suitcase.

About 30 minutes after entering the facility, Howard allegedly posted a cryptic message on his personal Facebook page, which said in part: “Take a hard look in the mirror, I have. And this is why I am about to take out [the Control Center] and my life. April, Pop, love you guys and I am sorry. Leaving you with a big mess.”

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After telling his family to move on and forget about him, Howard added to his message, “I’m going to smoke this blunt and move on, take care everyone,” court documents said.

At 5:42 a.m., another employee called 911 to report a fire at the facility. Aurora firefighters found heavy smoke in the basement of the control center. Eventually, paramedics followed a blood trail which led them to Howard, according to the criminal complaint.

Howard had allegedly tried slashing his own throat after lifting the cover on a floor panel in the control center’s basement, where he had severed communications cables and set fire to air traffic control equipment.

His actions created a big radar hole and shut down Chicago O’Hare and Midway airports, court documents said. More than 1,500 flights were canceled and 900 more flights were delayed, according to FAA officials.

Paramedics told federal authorities that they saw a gas can and knife on the floor next to the panel, along with a burnt towel, gasoline nozzle and the Pelican suitcase.

The Naperville man was taken to a nearby Aurora hospital where he was treated for his wounds.

Federal authorities proclaimed the fire an “isolated local incident” and quickly ruled out terrorism.

Howard is expected to be arraigned at a later date yet to be determined. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in a federal penitentiary.