An air traffic controller at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is facing assault and battery charges for his role in an altercation in the control tower last week.

On Thursday, an argument led to a fight involving air traffic controllers. One of them, Damon Gaines, 39, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was charged with assault and battery, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police told CBS News.

Police did not specify what caused the altercation. An unnamed source told the Daily Mail that the fight got so fierce that, by the time the parties involved were separated, blood had splattered onto a control panel.

The source also connected the outburst to the added scrutiny at Reagan National since the Jan. 29 collision between an American Airlines plane and a military helicopter. All 67 people aboard both aircraft were killed.

“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,” the source told the Daily Mail.

The Federal Aviation Administration told Fox News that Mr. Gaines is on administrative leave while the agency looks into the matter.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.