Flights Resume At Area Airports After Smoke Condition
NEW YORK (WCBS 880 / CBS 2 / 1010 WINS / AP) -- Flights resumed at the three local airports Wednesday night following a report of a smoke condition at the TRACON radar facility on Long Island.
LISTEN: WCBS 880's Monica Miller reports
For about an hour, all flights from John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International airports were grounded.
FAA spokesman Jim Peters said the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control in Westbury was evacuated as a precaution after the smell of gas was reported at about 6:45 p.m. Wednesday. A handful of air traffic controllers remained behind.
He said other staff members were cleared to return about an hour later.
But he said the evacuation led to residual delays at LaGuardia, Kennedy and Newark airports.
The FAA's website reported that departures at LaGuardia were experiencing departure delays of up to an hour.
It wasn't immediately clear how many flights were affected.
WCBS 880 Sports Director Jared Max was on a grounded airplane at Newark International Airport that was supposed to be headed to Texas ahead of the Yankees-Rangers series. He said the pilot came on twice over the intercom to explain the situation.
"(Pilot) told us that where all the radar is kept that controls all three airports, that's not on the site here, that there was some kind of smoke in that building and an evacuation," Max said.
