Investigators document a breakdown before takeoff
WASHINGTON — A preliminary federal investigation has found that repeated communication failures preceded an August 4 loss of separation involving Marine One, carrying President Donald Trump, and a departing passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Marine One’s crew tried at least twice to provide the required three-minute departure notice to air traffic controllers. The first transmission was not received, and the second was broken and unreadable. An attempted relay through the helicopter facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling also failed.
Without a usable warning, the local controller cleared Envoy Air Flight 3742 for takeoff to Pensacola, Florida. The Embraer E-170 was becoming airborne as Marine One climbed high enough to establish contact with the tower, according to the preliminary report. No injuries or aircraft damage were reported.
Read the source: National Transportation Safety Board: Preliminary report OPS26LA063 ↗
White House construction changed the radio geometry
Marine One operations had temporarily moved from the White House South Lawn to the nearby Ellipse while construction continued at the White House. FAA technicians later found that the temporary operating location did not have adequate line of sight to the radio equipment serving the airport’s helicopter-control frequency.
The breakdown was not entirely unforeseen. NTSB investigators said Reagan tower personnel and Marine Helicopter Squadron One met July 30—five days before the incident—to discuss recent reports that controllers were not receiving the required three-minute calls. The Marine unit said communications had been ‘spotty,’ and both sides agreed to use alternate relay methods when direct contact failed.
That backup plan did not work on August 4. The finding is significant because the three-minute call is supposed to trigger a stop to departures at Reagan National while the presidential helicopter operates on a potentially conflicting route.
Aircraft passed within less than one nautical mile laterally
The FAA’s preliminary estimate placed Marine One and the Envoy jet about 0.82 nautical mile apart laterally and 700 feet apart vertically at their closest point. The passenger jet’s collision-avoidance system issued a traffic advisory, but it did not command an evasive maneuver.
The NTSB said the measured vertical distance met the applicable radar-separation minimum, which requires either 1.5 nautical miles horizontally or 500 feet vertically in that airspace. Investigators are still reviewing surveillance data and cautioned that the preliminary figures could change.
The Marine One crew reported seeing the jet and briefly delayed its own flight path while the airliner climbed away. Officials cited by the Associated Press emphasized that the president was not in danger, but the event exposed a failure in procedures designed to keep military helicopter movements separated from commercial traffic.
Read the source: Associated Press: Controllers warned Marine One pilots about communication issues ↗
FAA moved the radios and changed procedures
After the incident, the FAA relocated the helicopter-control radios from a nearby residential area to the top of the Reagan National control tower. Subsequent checks with Marine helicopters found no communication deficiencies, the NTSB report says.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford also said the agency changed a procedure following the close call. The corrective action comes after permanent helicopter restrictions were imposed near Reagan National in response to the January 2025 midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.
The NTSB has not issued a final probable-cause determination. Its preliminary report establishes the sequence of events and documents the communication and line-of-sight problems, but the agency says the investigation remains active and its findings may be revised as additional evidence is reviewed.
Read the source: Wikimedia Commons: Public-domain U.S. Marine Corps photograph ↗
Sources and further reading
National Transportation Safety Board: Preliminary report OPS26LA063 ↗
Reuters: Marine One crew failed to reach air traffic control before safety incident ↗
Associated Press: Controllers warned Marine One pilots about communication issues ↗
Wikimedia Commons: Public-domain U.S. Marine Corps photograph ↗