Durbin faults FAA for slow fixes at damaged radar tower

Sen. Dick Durbin D-Ill. said Friday the FAA is responding too slow to the sabotage at the Aurora FAA tower—with flights still being cancelled at O’Hare Airport because of the damage a week ago.

Durbin spoke to reporters in Chicago, before traveling to Aurora for a meeting with FAA Administrator Michael Huerta at the damaged Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center in Aurora a week after a fire crippled air traffic at O’Hare, Midway and around the nation.

When it comes to the FAA restoring service, Durbin said, “I don’t believe there has been a commitment to that.” He added that it is “unacceptable” that there is no backup plan.

Other members of the Illinois congressional delegation are expected to also be at the Aurora event with Huerta. Read the latest Sun-Times story on this HERE.

The suspect in the Aurora fire “was not the right person to be in this position,” Durbin said. How, Durbin asked, could he be “in a place where he can shut down the system when no one is around.”

Durbin also called for a third party independent investigation into the incident.