Umair
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.
