Latest news with #DamonMarsalisGaines
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
FAA introduces wellness checks for Reagan air traffic controllers
The Federal Aviation Administration has announced extra support for air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan National Airport following a series of incidents, including an alleged fight between two team members. Damon Marsalis Gaines, 39, was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department and charged with assault and battery after the incident on Thursday. The airport authority runs National Airport and Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Now the agency says it will send a critical incident stress management team to the airport to offer confidential support for staff following stressful events, increase operational supervisor staffing from six to eight, review airport certified professional controller staffing numbers and the arrival rate of aircraft per hour. Additionally, the agency intends to conduct regular wellness checks at the facility. The FAA said Gaines, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, remains on administrative leave as officials investigate the matter. The agency is in the middle of a campaign to recruit air traffic controllers after several aviation disasters this year put the national shortage in the spotlight. The country needs more than 14,000 air traffic controllers and there are currently around 10,800. In January, National Airport suffered a fatal incident when an American Airlines plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River, killing 67 people. A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary investigation found the airport had experienced 15,000 near-misses from October 2021 to December 2024. On Friday, the airport had another near-miss incident when a Delta Air Lines flight came close to a US Air Force T-3 jet around 3 p.m. as the military jet flew over the east bank of the river for a flyover ceremony at nearby Arlington National Cemetery. Following the fatal crash, the FAA imposed restrictions on non-commercial traffic flying over the river, with exceptions for emergency, presidential and vice-presidential operations.
The Independent
03-04-2025
- The Independent
FAA introduces wellness checks for Reagan air traffic controllers
The Federal Aviation Administration has announced extra support for air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan National Airport following a series of incidents, including an alleged fight between two team members. Damon Marsalis Gaines, 39, was taken into custody by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department and charged with assault and battery after the incident on Thursday. The airport authority runs National Airport and Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Now the agency says it will send a critical incident stress management team to the airport to offer confidential support for staff following stressful events, increase operational supervisor staffing from six to eight, review airport certified professional controller staffing numbers and the arrival rate of aircraft per hour. Additionally, the agency intends to conduct regular wellness checks at the facility. The FAA said Gaines, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, remains on administrative leave as officials investigate the matter. The agency is in the middle of a campaign to recruit air traffic controllers after several aviation disasters this year put the national shortage in the spotlight. The country needs more than 14,000 air traffic controllers and there are currently around 10,800. In January, National Airport suffered a fatal incident when an American Airlines plane collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River, killing 67 people. A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary investigation found the airport had experienced 15,000 near-misses from October 2021 to December 2024. On Friday, the airport had another near-miss incident when a Delta Air Lines flight came close to a US Air Force T-3 jet around 3 p.m. as the military jet flew over the east bank of the river for a flyover ceremony at nearby Arlington National Cemetery. Following the fatal crash, the FAA imposed restrictions on non-commercial traffic flying over the river, with exceptions for emergency, presidential and vice-presidential operations.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
Air traffic control room fight at Reagan National Airport leads to arrest
A fight in the air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport, or DCA, in the Washington, D.C., area led to an employee being arrested and charged with assault. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement to ABC News that police arrested Damon Marsalis Gaines last week after reports of a fight breaking out in the airport's control tower. Gaines, 40, was ultimately charged with assault and battery, officials said. MORE: DC plane crash: A timeline of the deadly collision The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that Gaines was put on administrative leave while the agency investigates the incident. Further details about what led to the fight have yet to be released. MORE: Pilots warned of safety concerns at Reagan National Airport for decades The arrest at DCA comes months after the deadly mid-air collision between a regional jet and an Army Blackhawk Helicopter that left 70 dead. Sixty-seven people were on the American Airlines plane, which departed from Wichita, Kansas on Jan. 29 and three Army soldiers were aboard the helicopter, which was on a training flight at the time, officials said. ABC News' Clara McMichael contributed to this report. Air traffic control room fight at Reagan National Airport leads to arrest originally appeared on
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
Air traffic control room fight at Reagan National Airport leads to arrest
A fight in the air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport, or DCA, in the Washington, D.C., area led to an employee being arrested and charged with assault. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement to ABC News that police arrested Damon Marsalis Gaines last week after reports of a fight breaking out in the airport's control tower. Gaines, 40, was ultimately charged with assault and battery, officials said. MORE: DC plane crash: A timeline of the deadly collision The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that Gaines was put on administrative leave while the agency investigates the incident. Further details about what led to the fight have yet to be released. MORE: Pilots warned of safety concerns at Reagan National Airport for decades The arrest at DCA comes months after the deadly mid-air collision between a regional jet and an Army Blackhawk Helicopter that left 70 dead. Sixty-seven people were on the American Airlines plane, which departed from Wichita, Kansas on Jan. 29 and three Army soldiers were aboard the helicopter, which was on a training flight at the time, officials said. ABC News' Clara McMichael contributed to this report. Air traffic control room fight at Reagan National Airport leads to arrest originally appeared on
New York Times
01-04-2025
- New York Times
Air Traffic Controller Arrested in Incident at Reagan National Tower
An air traffic controller was arrested on Thursday night after an incident in the control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport, the police said in a statement. The controller, Damon Marsalis Gaines, 39, of Upper Marlboro, Md., was charged with assault and battery, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which runs National Airport and Dulles International Airport in Virginia. The authority, which has its own police force, did not disclose the details of what led to Mr. Gaines's arrest. No injuries were reported. The Federal Aviation Administration, which manages air traffic operations at the airport, said in a statement that 'the employee is on administrative leave while we investigate the matter.' The F.A.A. declined to comment on the events that led to the episode. It was not immediately clear whether the incident disrupted flight operations. Mr. Gaines did not respond to a request for comment. The arrest comes as flight operations at National Airport have fallen under harsh scrutiny since American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter collided on Jan. 29, killing all 67 people on both aircraft. The F.A.A. imposed new safety measures after the crash, including permanently closing a helicopter route near National Airport linked to the collision. Despite the agency's efforts, aviation safety continues to be a concern at the airport. On Friday, air traffic controllers had to separate a departing Delta flight and four Air Force jets after they flew too close to one another, setting off a traffic collision avoidance alert in the passenger plane. The National Transportation Safety Board and F.A.A. are investigating the episode.
