WASHINGTON — A military helicopter carrying US President Donald Trump came less than a mile from a passenger jet above Washington on Tuesday after garbled communications with Ronald Reagan National Airport’s tower delayed air traffic controllers from clearing nearby air traffic, The New York Times reported citing two people familiar with federal officials’ initial assessment.Investigations are underway into how a commercial jet full of passengers got too close to the military helicopter carrying President Trump, the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board said on Wednesday.The incident occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. as Trump was flying to Joint Base Andrews from the White House on the initial leg of a planned trip to Los Angeles.Marine One — the call sign of the helicopter that carries the president — took off from the Ellipse just south of the White House on Tuesday afternoon, but air traffic at nearby National Airport continued for a couple of minutes afterward, according to audio recordings posted on ATC.com.Before taking off, the crew of Marine One made three attempts to warn controllers that they were three minutes away from taking off, according to the audio recordings.The communications appeared not to have been heard by the controller, and the helicopter advanced. That put it in the flight path of an Envoy Air passenger jet, a haunting situation after a tragic collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet in the Washington airspace last year.The flight operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, had just taken off from National Airport on its way to Pensacola, Florida. It was evidently nearby.The commercial jet passed within 1.5 miles of the Ellipse, according to tracking to Flightradar24.The plane can be seen ascending as the helicopter moves past the skyline in the other direction, in video captured by independent journalist Dave Statter.At their closest proximity, Marine One came within 0.8 miles of lateral distance and 700 feet of vertical distance from the passenger jet, according to the two people with knowledge of the FAA’s preliminary findings.Planes are typically halted at the airport, located about three miles from the White House, when the president lifts off.A loss of safe separation — the distance between two aircraft that is needed to reduce the likelihood of a collision — is defined by the FAA in a case like this as breaching either 1.5 miles in lateral distance or 500 feet in vertical distance. But the parameters can vary depending on the airspace and the types of aircraft.Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, said in a statement that Marine One flights are piloted by the finest aviators in the world, and the White House maintains the utmost confidence in them.“Although the president was at no point in harm’s way during yesterday’s momentary loss of separation, the White House continues to work with relevant military, FAA and other security personnel to ensure the president’s continued safety,” Desai said.Since July, Trump has been flying in and out of the Ellipse, a public park south of the White House, because the area on the White House South Lawn from which Marine One typically operates has been closed for the construction of a new helipad. That change has upended the routine in airspace that was already one of the country’s most complex, requiring a constant and elaborate dance among military aircraft, civilian helicopters and passenger jets for three major airports.Cassandra Nolan, a spokeswoman for the FAA, said in a statement that, “based on our preliminary safety review,” there had been a “momentary loss of separation.” She added that the president was “never in danger,” but that a “review” continues.The airspace around National Airport has been a source of safety concern ever since an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed into an American Airlines passenger flight on Jan. 29, 2025, killing all 67 people aboard both aircraft.A report by the NTSB, the independent government agency that investigated the accident, found that degraded radio reception deprived the Black Hawk crew of critical information about the aircraft with which it ultimately collided. The board also found that the controller handling those flights was overtaxed by working two jobs at a busy time.Since then, the FAA has taken some steps to improve air safety above Washington, including by modifying and closing helicopter routes. But many of the other safety measures recommended by the NTSB have yet to be adopted.On Tuesday, the radio reception problems were evident even before Marine One took off from the Ellipse for the trip to Andrews.A review of air-traffic control audio indicates the pilots of Marine One told a Reagan National tower controller they were preparing to take off at least three times. The controller didn’t appear to acknowledge the transmission, and traffic at the airport continued.
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