Controller Facing Assault Charge

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has confirmed that a Reagan National air traffic controller has been charged with assault and battery following an altercation in the cab last Thursday. Damon Marsalis Gaines, 39, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was arrested and charged after the alleged fracas. It has been reported that the other person involved was also an on-duty controller in the tower.

The sources who contacted media initially said the fight was the result of weeks of tension in the tower following the midair collision between a CRJ700 and Army Black Hawk helicopter in January. They said the impact of the incident itself was compounded by the clear view those working in the tower had of recovery operations in the Potomac River. Recovery workers pulled the bodies of 67 victims from the river in the days after the tragedy.