Communication Failure Blamed for Marine One Safety Incident: NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report on Aug. 27 citing a communication failure as the cause behind a Marine One helicopter carrying President Donald Trump coming too close to a commercial aircraft earlier this month.

NTSB’s preliminary report showed that the Marine One helicopter crew tried contacting air traffic controllers at the Reagan Washington National Airport twice to give them the standard three-minute liftoff warning to clear airspace in the area before departing from the White House.

The Marine One crew’s first communication attempt was not received by Reagan Washington National Airport’s air traffic control tower, while the second was “broken and completely unreadable.” The crew also tried to relay the three-minute notification through the helicopter facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, but was once again unsuccessful.

The communication failure occurred as Envoy ‌Air 3742, an Embraer E170 regional jet, was taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The Marine One helicopter and the regional jet experienced a “loss of separation” and were less than one mile apart at the closest proximity, according to the report.

Air traffic control was eventually able to warn the helicopter crew about the commercial airplane that was taking off. The crew “acknowledged and advised they had visual on the traffic,” the NTSB’s report said.

After the initial loss of separation, Marine One completed its flight without further incident, and Envoy Air 3742 completed its flight to Florida’s Pensacola National Airport, according to the report.

Republic 4700, another regional flight, was three miles from the airport during the incident and was rerouted by air traffic control out of caution.

Following the Aug. 4 incident, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) technicians from Spectrum Engineering completed a coverage analysis. The analysis found that there “was not adequate line-of-sight to ensure communications between the radio transmitter/receiver sight and The Ellipse,” which was where Marine One was temporarily operating from during construction of the White House’s new helipad.

“After finding the line-of-sight deficiencies in their coverage analysis done immediately after becoming aware of the problem, the FAA relocated the radios for the HC frequency from their location in a nearby residential neighborhood, to the top of the [Air Traffic Control Tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport],” the NTSB said.

The NTSB noted in its report that Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport air traffic control tower staff and the Marine One crew had previously met on July 30 to “discuss concern with recent reports of their not receiving the required 3 minute to liftoff call.” During the meeting, the Marine One crew said that communications “had been spotty.”

FAA regulations require aircraft to stay separated by at least 1.5 miles horizontally and 500 feet vertically near airports. However, Marine One and Envoy ‌Air 3742 were separated at one point by only 0.82 miles laterally and about 700 feet vertically, according to the NTSB’s preliminary report.

The FAA implemented stricter rules for aircraft and helicopters operating near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport following a midair collision between an Army helicopter and a passenger jet on Jan. 29, 2025. The collision killed 67 people.

In its preliminary report on Thursday, the NTSB confirmed that its investigation into the Aug. 4 incident remained ongoing.

The Epoch Times reached out to the White House for comment, which referred to the FAA. The FAA did not respond outside of normal business hours.

The FAA previously told The Epoch Times that a preliminary review found a brief “loss of separation” between Marine One and a commercial flight. The agency, however, confirmed that the president was never put in danger.

“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 said.

Reuters contributed to this report.