Charlotte Air Traffic Controller Arrested With Pipe Bomb

CHARLOTTE, NC -- An out of control dispute with a neighbor has led to charges against an air traffic controller at Charlotte Douglas International Airport and his roommate for making and possessing a weapon of mass destruction. The homemade pipe bomb had been intended to use against a neighbor, police said.

The charges against Federal Aviation Administration employee Paul Dandan and his roommate Derrick Fells were made one week after Charlotte police were tipped off by a 911 call that the pair had a homemade explosive device in their possession in the home they shared in the 300 block of Minitree Lane, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said in a statement late Friday night.

On the morning of Nov. 3, police responded to the 911 call at the northwest Charlotte home, which is located in a housing development near Pine Island Country Club. CMPD’s bomb squad confirmed the device was a homemade pipe bomb.

During the course of the police investigation, Fells, 39, told police he built the pipe bomb to use against a neighbor, which whom he was having an ongoing dispute. Fells said he changed his mind about using it, and gave it to Dandan.

Dandan, 30, works full time for the FAA as an air traffic controller in Charlotte and only had access to the offsite ATC tower, officials at Charlotte Douglas International Airport said in a statement through CMPD. Dandan “had no access to the restricted areas of the terminal or ramp. He did not have access to any aircraft at the Airport,” the airport said.

In response to the arrest, FAA has terminated Dandan’s employee access to the ATC tower, CMPD said.

The Federal Aviation Administration told WCNC-TV that Dandan was fired from his job at Charlotte Douglas International Airport after his arrest.

Fells has been charged with three counts of manufacturing a weapon of mass destruction and one count of possession of a weapon of mass destruction. Dandan has been charged with possessing, acquiring and transporting a weapon of mass destruction. The Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office website shows Dandan was being held at the county jail Friday night on $45,000 bond.

AP contributed to this report.

Photos courtesy of CMPD