Error takes out O'Hare landing aids

Chicago's O'Hare airport kept operating normally after landing aids on two runways were knocked out by a computer failure, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

The so-called localizers, which are used for instrument landings, were unavailable for about 30 minutes starting at 10 a.m., FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said in an interview today. Clear visibility allowed pilots to fly in safely without the guides, Molinaro said.

Karen Pride, a spokeswoman for the Chicago Airport System, confirmed that the loss of the navigation aids was isolated to FAA equipment and didn't affect flight operations.

The FAA is trying to determine the cause of the failure, Molinaro said. UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines use O'Hare as a hub, where commuter flights feed passengers onto larger jets.