Air traffic controller Damon Gaines, 39, was charged over the March 27 incident, Politico reported, citing LexisNexis. The Federal Aviation Administration said it put the employee involved on administrative leave pending an investigation.
According to sources speaking with the Daily Mail, the March 27 incident was allegedly a “bloody physical fight” involving thrown punches and the drawing of blood.
Two air traffic controllers reportedly entered into a heated argument, leading to one throwing a punch at the other. The two were pulled apart after a brief but bloody fight. Six or seven air traffic controllers and a supervisor are typically in the control tower at all times.
A source speaking with the outlet blamed stress from January’s fatal plane crash for the raised tensions.
“I’ve heard of controllers going at it in the parking lot but this was on a whole new level. That facility is out of control. People are cracking because of what happened in January,” they said.
On Jan. 29, American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military Black Hawk Sikorsky H-60 helicopter above the Potomac River. Everyone on both aircraft, 67 people, died.
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Though the airport had an adequate number of aircraft controllers at the time, only one air traffic controller was handling aircraft and nearby helicopter traffic.
The crash was the worst aviation disaster since a February 2009 crash in Buffalo, New York. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.
