President Donald Trump departs the White House via HMX-1 en route to Mount Vernon on Saturday, September 20th, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Harrison Koeppel)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - An NTSB preliminary report details a radio-communication issue before Marine One and a departing commercial jet were involved in a loss-of-separation incident near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier this month.
The Aug. 4 incident involved a Sikorsky VH-3D helicopter operating as Marine One and Envoy Air Flight 3742, an Embraer E-170 headed from Reagan National to Pensacola, Florida.
What happened near Reagan National Airport?
What we know:
Marine One departed from the Ellipse in Washington around 2:34 p.m. as Envoy Flight 3742 took off from Runway 1 and began its initial climb, the NTSB said.
The two aircraft came closest about 2 miles north of the airport. The FAA’s preliminary estimate put them about 0.82 nautical miles apart laterally and 700 feet apart vertically.
The NTSB is continuing to review surveillance data to calculate and confirm the closest distance between the aircraft.
Neither crew reported injuries, and neither aircraft was damaged. Both flights continued without further incident.
Radar flight tracks of both VM1 and ENY3742 overlaid onto satellite imagery with the FAA estimated closest proximity illustrated (.82 nautical miles (nm) lateral and 700 feet vertical).
What the NTSB found about radio communication
What they're saying:
The preliminary report found that Marine One’s first attempt to contact the Reagan National Airport control tower was not received. A second attempt was broken and unreadable.
FAA technicians later determined there was not enough line-of-sight radio coverage between the tower’s helicopter-control frequency and the Ellipse, where Marine One was temporarily operating while construction was underway at the White House.
The FAA moved the radios for that frequency from a nearby residential neighborhood to the top of the airport control tower after the incident. Subsequent radio checks found no deficiencies, according to the report.
Why the missed call mattered
Dig deeper:
Under an agreement between Marine Helicopter Squadron One and Washington-area air traffic control facilities, a helicopter carrying the president is required to contact the airport tower three minutes before departure. The tower then stops departures.
The report said Marine One tried at least twice to make that call but could not get through. Without it, the local controller cleared the Envoy flight for takeoff.
Marine One reached the tower once it climbed high enough for adequate radio contact. By then, the passenger jet was becoming airborne. The helicopter crew immediately reported seeing the jet after receiving a traffic advisory, the NTSB said.
What's next:
The NTSB’s investigation remains ongoing, and the preliminary findings are subject to change.
The Source: This article was written using the NTSB’s preliminary report and investigation information from the National Transportation Safety Board.