Probe links White House construction to Trump helicopter close call

WASHINGTON: Investigations into a recent close call involving US President Donald Trump's helicopter suggest that White House construction work may have played a role. On August 4, Marine One flew over the White House to transport Trump from a temporary landing site on the Ellipse, near the White House grounds, during the construction of a permanent helipad.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed in their preliminary report that the distance between the presidential helicopter and an Envoy Air passenger plane was only 0.82 miles (1.3km) horizontally and 700 feet (213m) vertically, which fell short of the required minimum separation of 1.5 miles (2.4km) horizontally and 500 feet (152m) vertically.

Both the White House and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have maintained that Trump was never in danger. The NTSB is working to confirm these distances and continues its investigation. The report also revealed that air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport did not receive the initial radio transmission about the helicopter's imminent departure, with the second transmission being unreadable.

This issue was exacerbated by inadequate line of sight to ensure communication between the radio transmitter/receiver site and The Ellipse, where Marine One was temporarily operating while White House construction was ongoing.