FAA problem grounds Gary airport in bad weather

GARY | Delays in the installation of a new precision instrument landing system at Gary/Chicago International Airport are taking a bite out of private jet traffic and have caused the diversion of some airline flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration had planned on having the new system up and running by the end of October, according to Tony Molinaro, an FAA spokesman. Now, problems with calibrating the system make it impossible to say when it will be operational.

"The key for us is to try and get it all done and operating as soon as possible," Molinaro said Wednesday.

The $2.5 million instrument landing system will guide planes in when visibility is reduced by fog or other weather conditions. Until recently, the airport had such a system, but it was taken down to make way for the new one.

"When we need it, we lose 100 percent of our business, and that's the bottom line," said Will Davis, owner of the Gary Jet Center, the airport's fixed base operator for charter jets and other aircraft.

So far, there have been about five days when the airport has not been able to perform instrument landings, Davis said.

It is the worst time of year to be without such a system, because fog, snow, rain and low cloud cover are more frequent.

Two SkyValue flights had to land at South Bend Regional Airport because they could not land at Gary. The airline just started flying out of Gary on Dec. 15.

"Suffice it to say, the FAA has been inundated with a lot of telephone calls from very important people," said SkyValue Executive Vice President Gabrielle Griswold.

The airline has flown almost 50 flights into and out of Gary, so the problem has only affected a very small percentage of flights. The airline provided a bus to bring all passengers on the diverted flights back to Gary.

Airport Director Chris Curry said he has kicked the problem up to FAA Great Lakes Regional Administrator Christopher Blum.

"It is a major inconvenience for us," Curry said. "If we had any idea they would be unable to install it when they said they would, we would have done everything we could to get them to wait."

The project was originally suppose to start in September and wrap up in October, Curry said. It is an FAA project so the airport does not have direct control over it.

The new equipment is costing the FAA $1.1 million and the cost to install it is $1.4 million, Molinaro said.

The equipment was put in place by contractors on schedule, Molinaro said. But crews attempting to calibrate the sophisticated equipment have run into problems.