The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on Thursday regarding an incident earlier this month involving Marine One, the presidential helicopter, and a commercial aircraft departing from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to safety officials, the relocation of helicopter operations from the White House South Lawn to the nearby Ellipse due to ongoing construction projects played a contributing role in the near-miss encounter between the military aircraft and an Embraer E170 jet operated by an American Airlines subsidiary.
The NTSB identified communication issues as the primary factor in the incident. The Marine One crew failed to provide the required three-minute advance notice to air traffic controllers before taking off on August 4, which meant that commercial flights from the airport were not halted as standard procedure dictates. This resulted in a loss of separation between the two aircraft. Investigators found that the Marine One crew attempted at least twice to radio controllers with the required notice but were unable to establish contact.
Construction at the White House, which began in May, led to the relocation of helicopter flights from the South Lawn to the Ellipse. Projects underway include the construction of a new ballroom and a new helipad for Marine One. According to the NTSB report, air traffic controllers had met with Marine One staff on July 30 to discuss concerns about the crew not providing the required advance notice in recent flights. The Marine One crew acknowledged that communications “had been spotty” and agreed to use alternative communication methods with the tower when unable to reach them directly.
Following the August 4 incident, Federal Aviation Administration head Bryan Bedford stated that the agency relocated an antenna and implemented procedural changes. The NTSB confirmed that checks conducted after these modifications showed no subsequent communication problems. However, the Associated Press reported on Friday that controllers briefly lost contact with Marine One on Thursday as the president traveled to an event in Texas, though communications were quickly restored and no safety concerns were identified.
The incident occurred in the context of heightened aviation safety scrutiny following a January 2025 collision between a commercial airliner and an army Black Hawk helicopter over the nation’s capital that resulted in 67 fatalities, which led to tightened proximity rules for aircraft operating in the area.
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