Suspect in suburban Chicago FAA facility fire charged

Authorities charged an Illinois man late Friday with setting a fire at a control facility outside of Chicago that caused chaos within the facility and throughout the nation with thousands of flight cancellations.

Federal prosecutors charged Brian Howard, 36, in connection with an early morning fire at the Federal Aviation Administration Air Route Traffic Control Center in Aurora, Ill.

The fire severely damaged the facility, which helps to direct regional air traffic throughout the Midwest, causing an evacuation and quickly grounding flights and stranding passengers. As many as 2,000 flights were cancelled through the day. United, American Airlines, Delta and Southwest scrapped a combined 1,000 flights alone, CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues reported.

According to the criminal complaint, Howard, an FAA contract employee at the airport, entered the control center just after 5:00 a.m., dragging a roller board suitcase with him. About 30 minutes later, a relative saw a Facebook message that indicated he intended to commit suicide and forwarded the message to the Naperville police. A few minutes later a worker at the control center called 911 to report a fire.

Paramedics who arrived on the scene found Howard attempting to kill himself with a knife as well as materials he allegedly used to start the fire. He was removed from the scene and taken to a nearby hospital in Aurora.

Howard remains hospitalized and no court date has been set for an appearance, according to the FBI. If convicted he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.