Marine One has trouble communicating with air traffic control again

President Trump's helicopter, Marine One, faced communication difficulties with air traffic controllers on Thursday, marking the second occurrence of such issues this month. As Marine One prepared to depart from Washington, D.C., its attempts to reach controllers remained unsuccessful, prompting another pilot to assist. This incident echoes a similar event in early August, where Marine One flew dangerously close to a commercial jet at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that Marine One's initial communication attempt on that day was entirely unheard, while a second attempt was incomprehensible. FAA technicians attributed the earlier communication problems to insufficient line-of-sight from the Ellipse, a large lawn near the White House where Marine One typically takes off due to ongoing White House construction.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy claimed the issue had been rectified, stating, "There's been a lot of infrastructure that's been built in Virginia and in the D.C. area. And so we have some interference with our antenna. And so we're working right now on fixing that communication." However, Marine One encountered the same communication woes on Thursday, despite the claimed resolution. The FAA acknowledged the recurrence of the issue in a statement, but did not comment on its return.