The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating a safety incident involving President Donald Trump's Marine One helicopter and a commercial passenger plane. The incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon as Marine One departed from the White House grounds en route to Joint Base Andrews.
According to the FAA, Marine One briefly experienced a "loss of separation" with a commercial flight. Flight tracking data indicates that an American Airlines flight bound for Pensacola, Florida, took off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport around the same time Marine One departed the White House. Federal regulations require aircraft to maintain a minimum separation of 1.5 miles horizontally and 500 feet vertically near airports.
"Based on our preliminary safety review, there was momentary loss of separation after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another," the FAA stated. "The air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial pilot and Marine One pilot during the loss of separation. As the White House has said, the President was never in danger."
Sources cited by The Wall Street Journal suggest that air traffic controllers may not have adhered to traditional protocols, which typically involve halting flights at the nearby airport when Marine One is preparing for takeoff. Controllers usually expect at least a three-minute warning before Marine One departs to ensure airspace clearance.
In a separate precautionary measure, another regional American Airlines flight, an Embraer E175 departing from Raleigh-Durham International Airport, was rerouted. This flight was approximately three miles from Reagan National Airport during the incident and subsequently landed at 2:52 p.m.
This investigation comes in the wake of stricter aviation regulations implemented around Reagan National Airport following a fatal crash in January 2025. That incident involved an American Airlines regional jet colliding with an Army Black Hawk helicopter, resulting in 67 fatalities. Since that crash, helicopter flights have been restricted, and the route used by the Black Hawk helicopter was shut down by the Transportation Department.
A spokesperson for the Marine Corps, Captain Jacob Sugg, told The Wall Street Journal that there were no "close calls" during Tuesday's flight and that air traffic controllers guided Marine One to Joint Base Andrews. White House spokesman Kush Desai affirmed that "Marine One flights are piloted by some of the best aviators in the world, and at no point was the President in harm’s way."
Marine One landed safely at Joint Base Andrews, where President Trump then boarded Air Force One for his scheduled trip to Los Angeles.