White House construction may have disrupted Trump helicopter’s radio during close call with Envoy jet: Report
White House construction may have disrupted Marine One radio calls, leading to a close encounter with an Envoy Air passenger jet.
On August 4, White House construction may have interfered with Donald Trump's Marine One helicopter and an Envoy Air passenger jet, causing a radio failure and bringing them dangerously close together near Reagan Airport. Air traffic controllers failed to hear Marine One's three-minute warning to take off, allowing the Envoy jet to depart.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that the two aircraft came within 0.8 miles horizontally and 700 feet vertically of each other. The NTSB's preliminary report stated that controllers and Marine One pilots had discussed missed warning calls a week prior, agreeing to use a backup person to relay messages. However, that backup also failed on the day of the incident.
Controllers had moved the radio receiver near the airport to improve communication, but the problem persisted. Aviation safety expert Jeff Guzzetti noted that root causes were often unknown despite previous communication issues. The incident raised concerns following a January 2025 collision between an airliner and an Army Black Hawk that killed 67 people.
The NTSB emphasized that controllers should not be blamed, as they did not receive the warning. Controllers warned the helicopter and instructed another aircraft to abort its landing and circle.
Written by urgent.news from Hindustan Times - World News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
