The Nationwide Transportation Security Board and Federal Aviation Administration are trying into why airport visitors wasn’t halted when Marine One departed the White Home Tuesday afternoon with President Trump on board.
After the deadly midair collision at Washington’s Reagan Nationwide Airport between an Military Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airways jet in January 2025, the Transportation Division prohibited non-essential helicopter operations round Reagan Nationwide Airport. Marine One and emergency flights are exempt from the ban, however once they do fly throughout the Potomac, a floor cease should happen on the airport.
On Tuesday, when the president was departing Washington for a visit to the West Coast, the Marine One pilot tried to contact the tower at DCA thrice to alert air visitors controllers that the presidential helicopter was minutes away from liftoff. The tower at one level acknowledged the communication however requested for the pilot to repeat the message as a result of it “was damaged and unreadable.”
Marine One lifted off and appeared to catch the tower off guard. It was then that the tower alerted the helicopter that air visitors was nonetheless flowing at Nationwide Airport, and a airplane was within the air.
“Marine One, you’ve got acquired visitors rotating off runway one,” the air visitors controller stated. Marine One acknowledged and held in place, after which notified the tower: “Nationwide Tower, Marine One — we will be doing a delay.”
The Wall Road Journal first reported the incident. President Trump was by no means in peril, the FAA confirmed.
The FAA instructed CBS Information that “there was momentary lack of separation after which the plane continued to maneuver away from each other,” and stated the FAA would proceed to evaluation the incident.
The Marine Corps referred to as the flight “routine” and stated that air visitors controllers had “authorised the requested route and supplied well timed and acceptable visitors data.”
