Trump Aboard During Marine One Traffic Incident

Federal aviation officials and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating an air traffic incident involving the Marine One presidential helicopter this week, which occurred while President Donald Trump was on board, authorities said on Wednesday.

The incident took place at about 2.30pm Eastern Time on Tuesday as Marine One departed from the Ellipse near the White House, with the president travelling to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as part of the first leg of a trip to the West Coast, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

Departure Near Reagan National Airport

As Marine One lifted off, commercial traffic at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) was not stopped as required by safety procedures, officials said.

Standard protocol calls for air traffic controllers to suspend all other aircraft operations three minutes before Marine One is scheduled to depart. According to officials, that coordination did not happen at the time of take-off.

An air traffic communications recording provided to ATC.com indicated that Marine One issued a notice about three minutes before departure. However, a controller did not hear the message because another transmission was being made on the same frequency.

FAA Says Separation Lapse Was Brief

The FAA said that initial review suggested the event involved a brief disruption in separation between Marine One and an American Airlines regional service aircraft taking off from DCA.

Under FAA regulations, commercial aircraft must maintain at least 1.5 miles of horizontal separation and 500 feet of vertical separation from a helicopter operating in the vicinity of DCA. The FAA said the American Airlines regional flight did not come dangerously close to Marine One at any point.

In its statement, the FAA said the aircraft continued to diverge after the loss of required spacing. It added that during the period in question, the controller remained in contact with both the commercial pilot and the Marine One pilot.

White House Says President Was Not At Risk

The White House said on Wednesday that the president was never at risk. “At no point was the President in harm’s way,” it said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the incident late on Tuesday.

Review Under Way, Corrective Actions Planned

The FAA said it was continuing its examination of the incident and would introduce any suitable corrective measures based on its findings.

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6 August 2026