Air traffic controllers and the pilots of President Donald Trump's helicopter met to discuss communication issues one week before a jet was allowed to take off just as Marine One departed the White House, federal investigators reported.
During the August 4 incident near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, controllers reported not receiving the standard three-minute warning call ahead of Marine One flights. Both sides agreed to an alternative communication method for such instances, but this plan also proved unsuccessful on the day of the close call, according to the National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report.
The close proximity of the jet and helicopter appeared to violate safety procedures implemented after a midair collision near the airport that killed 67 people the previous year. However, officials emphasized that the president was never in danger.
A long-standing agreement between the Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration requires controllers to be given a three-minute warning before the president's helicopter departs. This protocol predated last year's fatal crash.
Recordings from the tower indicated that controllers did not hear calls from Marine One's pilot signaling the helicopter's imminent takeoff. Conversely, separate recordings posted by ATC.com suggest the helicopter did make these calls. The helicopter pilots attempted to relay their three-minute warning through the helicopter facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, but this attempt also failed.
Following an airliner's collision with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on January 29, 2025, the FAA mandated that all takeoffs and landings at Reagan National Airport would be halted whenever a helicopter passed by on a conflicting route.
The airspace around the White House and Reagan National Airport is heavily trafficked by both military and commercial aircraft. The FAA acknowledged that the helicopter and airliner briefly came within an unsafe proximity before maneuvering away from each other. The commercial jet accelerated upward after Marine One's pilots spotted the plane and paused their departure until the jet was clear.
Preliminary estimates from the NTSB indicate the helicopter and plane were approximately 0.8 miles apart laterally and 700 feet apart vertically at their closest point. The crew of the Envoy Air flight reported receiving a traffic warning from their collision avoidance system shortly after takeoff but did not visually identify the helicopter.
The official FAA tower recordings from Reagan National did not contain the warnings that Marine One was preparing to depart with the president aboard. However, a recording from ATC.com captured the Marine One pilot stating, "three minutes to life," consistent with the 2013 agreement between the FAA and the military. The controller appeared surprised by the helicopter's departure a few minutes later, asking, "Uh, Marine One, you said, uh, you're proceeding as briefed?" before commenting, "OK, no three minutes, roger, proceed as briefed."
After the controller alerted the helicopter to the departing plane, the Marine One pilot responded, "We'll be doing a momentary delay."
Following last year's midair collision, it was revealed that poor communication between air traffic controllers and the military had been a persistent issue. A congressional hearing brought to light that a hotline connecting the Pentagon to the tower at Reagan National had been non-operational for over three years, a fact unknown to the FAA.
In the aftermath of the Marine One incident, FAA technicians identified an insufficient line of sight between the airport's radio receiver and the White House helicopter departure location. Consequently, these radios were relocated from their previous neighborhood site to the top of the tower at Reagan National. Subsequent testing confirmed the radios functioned effectively after this adjustment.