Reported fight in control tower at Reagan airport investigated, man arrested
Police say they were called to the DCA tower outside Washington, D.C., on Thursday because of a fight. Officers arrested 39-year-old Damon Gaines of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police. He is facing charges of assault and battery.
Government payroll records online identify Gaines as an air traffic controller. He is on administrative leave while the matter is investigated, the FAA said.
CBS News has tried to contact Gaines for comment.
The union representing air traffic controllers who are typically the people working inside the Reagan control tower declined to comment.
It is unclear what prompted the reported altercation, which comes as the situation at the DCA tower has been increasingly tense since a mid-air air collision in January killed 67 people in the deadliest U.S. aviation disaster since 2001. It also comes after a Delta Air Lines flight departing Reagan airport experienced a close call with an Air Force jet after taking off on Friday.
After the deadly January crash between a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines flight, the National Transportation Safety Board made a number of recommendations to address a "serious safety risk" at Reagan airport, including banning helicopter operations along the route near the airport when runways 15 and 33 are in use.
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