Trump helicopters radio warnings went unheard before close call with passenger jet, report says
Marine One’s crew made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to notify Reagan National Airport that President Donald Trump’s helicopter was preparing to depart on Aug.4 before it flew near a commercial passenger jet, according to a preliminary federal report released Thursday.The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report said the crew’s first call to Reagan National’s helicopter-control frequency before departing from the Ellipse was not received.
A second transmission was "broken and completely unreadable."After failing to reach the tower, the Marine One crew tried to relay the required three-minute notification through the helicopter facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, but that effort was unsuccessful as well, according to the report.TRUMP EYES NEW WHITE HOUSE LAWN PROJECT THAT COULD RESHAPE PRESIDENTIAL TRAVELFILE - U.S.President Donald Trump steps off Marine One to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on August 4, 2026.
New reports show Trump helicopter’s radio warnings went unheard.(Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)The missed warning meant Reagan National controllers did not receive notice that would have required them to stop departures before the presidential helicopter lifted off.Instead, Envoy Air Flight 3742, an Embraer E-170 bound for Pensacola, Florida, was cleared to take off from Runway 1 as Trump departed the White House aboard Marine One for a planned trip to Los Angeles.The passenger jet was beginning its initial climb as Marine One departed the Ellipse, about 2 miles north of the airport, the NTSB said.The FAA’s preliminary estimate found the aircraft came within about 0.82 nautical miles of one another laterally and roughly 700 feet vertically.
No one was injured, neither aircraft was damaged, and both flights continued without further incident.FAA PROBES JFK NEAR MISS AFTER ANOTHER RECENT CLOSE CALL FUELS SCRUTINY OF AIR TRAFFIC SAFETYFILE - A passenger jet flies past the FAA control tower at W...