NTSB report sheds new light on Marine One ‘close call’ with Trump onboard

Jump to contentAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleAir traffic controllers and the pilots of President Donald Trump's helicopter met a week before an August 4 close call incident to establish a backup communication method, but that relay arrangement failed when Marine One departed the White House. A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that tower recordings did not capture Marine One's departure calls, leaving controllers surprised when the helicopter took off alongside a departing passenger jet. At their closest point near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Marine One and an Envoy Air jet were approximately 0.8 miles apart horizontally and 700 feet apart vertically before the helicopter crew paused to let the jet climb away safely. Simultaneously operating both aircraft appeared to violate FAA safety protocols established after a fatal January 2025 midair collision, which required halting airport departures whenever a helicopter passes on a conflicting path. Following the incident, FAA technicians discovered line-of-sight radio reception problems between the airport receiver and the White House departure site, leading them to relocate the radios to the top of the Reagan tower. In fullMarine One pilots were warned about comms issues before ‘close call’ with Trump onboardMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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