Authorities at Ronald Reagan National Airport arrested a Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controller after he allegedly assaulted one of his coworkers.
Damon Marsalis Gaines, 39, was detained by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department and charged with assault and battery, a spokesperson for the agency told The Independent.
In a separate statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the employee, who is from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, remains on administrative leave while officials investigate last week’s incident. Additional details were not provided.
The FAA is in the middle of a campaign to recruit air traffic controllers as an employee shortage continues. There are currently 10,800 certified controllers, but the country needs more than 14,000.
Additionally, the airport suffered a tragedy on January 29, when an American Airlines commercial plane arriving from Wichita, Kansas, collided with an Army Black Hawk Helicopter over the Potomac River, killing 67 people. The FAA imposed helicopter restrictions for the flight path being used by the soldiers, with exceptions for presidential, vice-presidential, and emergency traffic.
But the airport suffered a close call on Friday when a Delta Air Lines flight came close to a US Air Force T-3 jet around 3 p.m. The military jet was one of four flying over the east bank of the Potomac River to participate in a flyover ceremony at nearby Arlington National Cemetery, the FAA said.
The commercial flight received a TCAS alert warning that alerts pilots of a potential collision. Controllers cleared the Delta flight for takeoff and later issued corrective instructions to both aircraft.
Following the January crash, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed the airport had suffered 15,000 near-misses from October 2021 to December 2024.
Source: independent.co.uk
