The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has completed a preliminary review of an incident that occurred on Tuesday (August 4) involving President Donald Trump‘s helicopter, Marine One, and a commercial jet. The episode took place as Marine One was taking off from the White House, while an Envoy Air flight was departing from Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.
According to FAA policy, all commercial flights at Reagan National are required to halt when the President’s helicopter departs. However, on Tuesday, the two aircraft reportedly came within a mile of each other, leading to a “loss of separation” incident. Despite this, the FAA stated that the President was never in danger. The FAA emphasized that both aircraft continued to move away from one another after the momentary loss of separation.
The White House and the Marine Corps reiterated that President Trump was not at risk during the incident. Marine Corps spokesman Capt. Jacob Sugg noted that there were no “close calls” and that the air traffic control team provided timely and appropriate traffic information. Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, assured that Marine One flights are piloted by some of the best aviators in the world.
The FAA plans to convene a Safety Review Team to further examine the incident and determine if corrective action is necessary. The National Transportation Safety Board is still gathering information and has not yet decided whether to investigate.
The incident follows a tragic mid-air collision in January 2025 near Reagan National Airport, which resulted in 67 fatalities. In response, the FAA implemented permanent restrictions on helicopter operations around the airport, requiring aircraft to maintain at least 1.5 miles of horizontal separation and 500 feet of vertical separation.
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