US President Donald Trump's helicopter flew too close to a passenger aircraft near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Tuesday. Marine One departed the White House with Trump on board on Tuesday afternoon while flights at the nearby airport were still operating. Safety procedures normally require air traffic to be halted before the presidential helicopter takes off.
Air traffic controllers struggled to understand communications from Marine One's crew, describing some of the messages as "broken and unreadable", according to recordings reported by The Washington Post.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the incident, said there had been a "loss of standard separation", referring to the minimum distance required between aircraft.
Marine One came within 0.8 miles laterally of the passenger plane, compared with the 1.5-mile separation required under safety protocols, The New York Times reported.
The helicopter's crew informed air traffic control three minutes before departure that it was preparing to take off, in line with normal procedure. However, controllers at Washington National Airport appeared unable to clearly understand the transmission.
The incident prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA said the two aircraft continued to move away from each other after the “momentary loss of separation”.
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“The president was never in danger,” the agency said in a statement reported by The Washington Post. “We are continuing to review the incident and will implement any appropriate corrective actions based on our findings.”
White House spokesman Kush Desai also said Trump had not been at risk. "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,” he said.
The incident has renewed concerns about the congested airspace around Washington National Airport.
In January 2025, an American Airlines passenger plane collided with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near the airport and crashed into the Potomac River. All 67 people on board the two aircraft were killed.
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