White House construction played part in Trump helicopter incident, safety officials say

Safety officials have revealed that the relocation of a helipad as part of Donald Trump's White House construction project contributed to a recent incident where a military helicopter, carrying the president, flew too close to a commercial jet. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report on Thursday, attributing the failure of the Marine One crew to provide the necessary three-minute warning to air traffic controllers to communication issues.

As a result, commercial flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were not halted as usual, leading to a "loss of separation" between the helicopter and an Embraer E170 jet taking off for Florida. The NTSB found that the Marine One crew made at least two attempts to radio controllers with the required notice but were unable to do so.

FAA head Bryan Bedford announced that the agency relocated an antenna and modified procedures following the incident. However, air traffic controllers once again lost contact with Marine One briefly on Thursday as the president headed to an event in Texas, though communication was quickly restored without any safety concerns. The earlier incident occurred on August 4, when Marine One took off at 2:33pm, one minute after the commercial jet had departed.

Although the FAA stated that the situation did not appear dangerous, the NTSB reported that the two aircraft were separated by only 0.82 nautical miles laterally and 700 feet vertically at one point. This incident follows tighter proximity rules implemented after a tragic collision between a commercial airliner and an army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington DC in January 2025, which resulted in 67 deaths.

Additionally, construction on a new helipad for the enlarged Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn is being altered due to Trump's dissatisfaction with its design and a perceived slope.