President Donald Trump, left, walks from Marine One to board Air Force One, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., en route to South Carolina. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump arrives on Marine One at the Ellipse near the White House, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Air traffic controllers in Washington and the pilots of President Donald Trump’s helicopter met to discuss communication issues one week before a jet and the chopper were allowed to take off at the same time, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.
Both sides met to discuss the failures in communications and agreed to an alternative for such occasions — but that method was also unsuccessful on the day of the Aug. 4 incident at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report shows.
Having both in the air at the same time seemed to violate safety procedures put in place after last year’s midair collision near the busy airport that killed 67 people, but officials stressed the president was never in danger. The Pentagon also has a longstanding agreement with the FAA to provide controllers with a three-minute warning before the president’s helicopter takes off that predates last year’s crash.
