The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a safety incident involving President Donald Trump’s helicopter and a commercial airplane Tuesday—just seven months after a fatal collision at the same airport killed dozens.
Marine One departed the White House at 2:33 p.m. on its way to Joint Base Andrews. One minute later, a commercial airplane took off from Reagan National Airport—violating a post-crash policy that requires air traffic control to halt flights during presidential movements.
The FAA confirmed to the Daily Caller that there was a “momentary loss of separation” between the aircraft.
“Marine One flights are piloted by some of the best aviators in the world, and at no point was the President in harm’s way.”
White House spokesman Kush Desai made the statement after the incident became public.
According to sources who spoke to Reuters, air traffic control had not stopped flights at Reagan National per the new safety protocol put in place following last year’s deadly crash.
The FAA requires aircraft to maintain at least 1.5 miles horizontal separation and 500 feet vertical separation near airports. Sources believe Marine One and the commercial plane—Envoy Air Flight 3742—did not maintain that required distance.
UPDATE: Here’s a second STATter911 camera showing a much wider view. This one shows the jet, reported to be Envoy Air 3742, above and to the west of Marine One as it follows the Potomac River north on it’s departure from DCA Runway 1. https://t.co/zb3yhPyZNEpic.twitter.com/GmgYvBpYMh
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) August 5, 2026
Air traffic control was in contact with both aircraft during the loss of separation, the FAA said. Both aircraft landed safely.
The FAA told the Caller: “As the White House has said, the President was never in danger. We are continuing to review the incident and will implement any appropriate corrective actions based on our findings.”
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an air safety incident involving President Donald Trump’s Marine One helicopter in D.C. on Tuesday, according to a Wall Street Journal report and air-traffic control audio reviewed by 7News.
Air traffic control audio captures… pic.twitter.com/ysItQ6dUeA
— 7News DC (@7NewsDC) August 5, 2026
The incident comes just months after a fatal collision at Reagan National that killed everyone aboard both aircraft.
On Jan. 29, 2025, an American Airlines passenger jet collided with a military helicopter at the airport moments before landing. There were no survivors.
That crash prompted new safety protocols requiring flight suspensions during presidential movements—protocols that sources say were not followed Tuesday.
Reagan National Airport has a documented history of near-misses, many involving presidential movement, according to a Daily Caller review of public documents.
In May 2017, both a helicopter pilot and airplane pilot reported “an unsafe situation involving VIP movements.” The helicopter was en route to the Naval Observatory, where then-Vice President Mike Pence resided, though it’s unclear if Pence was aboard.
In another incident, an air traffic controller wrote that despite holding airplanes during a presidential movement, controllers at Reagan National launched two departures at the presidential aircraft anyway. The planes were “less than a mile and no altitude, converging,” the report reads.
“How is it we on approach are not allowed to run arrivals yet they have the authority to release airplanes right at presidential aircraft?”
The controller’s report captured the frustration over coordination failures during VIP movements.
The FAA investigation is ongoing.
