Technician's slip disrupts an air traffic control hub

Human error caused a power equipment failure that knocked out the Cleveland Air Traffic Control Center for 2 1/2 hours Tuesday night, forcing 133 aircraft to be diverted, the Federal Aviation Administration said. An FAA technician preparing to do preventive maintenance work on the power system knocked out both the primary and backup power sources. The Cleveland center is one of 20 across the nation handling air traffic between airports. It controls 69,000 square miles of airspace, including Ohio, Michigan, parts of Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New York, and small portion sof West Virginia and Canada.