Controllers in Washington warned the pilots of Marine One about radio failures one week before a jet was allowed to take off as President Donald Trump’s helicopter left the White House on Aug. 4, 2026. The National Transportation Safety Board said the warning calls did not reach the tower that day, and the helicopter and jet later passed within 0.8 mile, or 1.3 kilometers, horizontally and 700 feet, or 215 meters, vertically.
The preliminary report released Thursday said the pilots and controllers had already met to discuss communication problems. Their backup plan also failed on the day of the Aug. 4 incident near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, leaving the tower without the standard three-minute warning before Marine One took off.
Jan. 29, 2025 crash
The FAA changed takeoff and landing procedures after the Jan. 29, 2025 crash, when an airliner collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter and 67 people died. Under that change, all takeoffs and landings at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport would be halted anytime a helicopter passes by on a conflicting route.
The area around the White House and Reagan is heavily congested with military and commercial aircraft. In the Aug. 4 incident, the FAA said the helicopter and airliner briefly got too close before both aircraft moved away from each other.
ATC.com recordings and tower calls
The NTSB said tower recordings never heard the pilot’s warning that Marine One was getting ready to take off. Separate recordings posted by ATC.com show the calls were made. That gap points to a communications breakdown between the helicopter crew, the tower and the relay channel the pilots tried to use through the helicopter facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.
Marine One’s pilots also saw the plane and paused until it safely left the area. The airplane then climbed above the helicopter. The NTSB said the president was never in danger.
Marine One on Aug. 21, 2026
Donald Trump appeared on Marine One again on Aug. 21, 2026, arriving at the Ellipse near the White House before later boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews. For passengers and airport users, the report shows that the procedures meant to keep presidential helicopter traffic separated from other aircraft can fail at the handoff points, not just in the air.
The unresolved issue is why the radio warnings were not heard on Aug. 4, even after controllers and Marine One pilots had already discussed the problem and agreed to an alternate way to pass the warning along.
