White House construction played a role in a radio failure that brought Donald Trump’s Marine One helicopter and an Envoy Air passenger jet too close to each other near Reagan on August 4, investigators said Thursday. Air traffic controllers did not hear Marine One’s three-minute warning before takeoff, so they cleared the airline plane to depart. The NTSB said they came within just over 0.8 mile horizontally and 700 feet vertically. Trump was never in danger, officials said.
Donald Trump’s Marine One warning did not reach tower
The NTSB’s preliminary report says controllers and Marine One pilots had discussed missed warning calls a week before the incident. They agreed to use another person to pass the message along if the problem returned. That backup also failed on August 4.
ATC.com posted a recording showing the Marine One pilot make the required call: “three minutes to lift.” The official tower recording did not contain the warning. The controller sounded surprised.
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White House construction caused Marine One radio problem
Investigators found that Marine One had moved to a different takeoff location because of construction. The radio receiver near Reagan airport then lacked a good line of sight to the helicopter.
The Federal Aviation Administration moved the receiver to the top of the Reagan airport tower. The FAA said the move was made “to improve communications” between the airport and Marine One pilots. Tests showed the radios working.
Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB and FAA crash investigator, said the earlier problems had been known but their cause had not been found. “Even though they were aware of some previous communications issues, they never got at the root cause,” Guzzetti said.
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Envoy Air jet and Marine One came too close
Because controllers did not hear Marine One’s warning, the Envoy Air jet was allowed to take off as the helicopter was also preparing to leave. The NTSB said the aircraft reached their closest point at just over 0.8 mile apart horizontally and about 700 feet vertically.
The Envoy crew received a warning from its collision-avoidance system but did not see Marine One. Marine One’s pilots saw the airplane and paused until the jet moved away.
The incident raised concerns after a January 29, 2025, collision between an airliner and an Black Hawk near Reagan that killed 67 people. The FAA had required airport takeoffs and landings to stop when a helicopter passes along a conflicting route.
Guzzetti said controllers should not be blamed because they never received the warning. They then warned the helicopter and told another aircraft to abort its landing and circle.
Inputs from AP
