by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 7:25 PM ET, Wed August 5, 2026
A commercial jet full of passengers flew too close to a military helicopter that was carrying Donald Trump on Tuesday, prompting an investigation into what the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called “a loss of separation."
The incident occurred shortly after the Marine One helicopter carrying Trump had taken off from the Ellipse at the White House. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport apparently continued operations for a couple of minutes after the helicopter’s takeoff, despite the fact that planes are typically halted when a president lifts off, according to a CNN review of air traffic control audio.
“Based on our preliminary safety review, there was momentary loss of separation after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another,” the FAA later said in a statement.
“We are continuing to review the incident and will implement any appropriate corrective actions based on our findings,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the NTSB has said it intends to open an investigation into the incident.
The close proximity of Marine One and the commercial jet is yet the latest in a string of high profile incidents in what is extremely crowded airspace in the Washington D.C. area, particularly around Reagan National Airport.
Last year, a US Army Blackhawk helicopter fatally collided with an American Airlines regional jet leaving 67 people dead. That incident triggered stricter restrictions on helicopters operating near the airport. The FAA later admitted that it failed to address warning signs leading up to the mid-air collision.
According to CNN’s review of air-traffic control audio for this latest incident, pilots on Marine One told a Reagan National tower controller they were preparing to take off at least three times.
The controller at Reagan however, did not appear to acknowledge the transmission, and traffic at the airport continued, CNN reported.
“Tower, do you copy. Marine One, three minutes to lift,” a pilot said at 2:31 p.m., per the audio as reported by CNN.
The Marine One pilot called once again, and a controller responded by saying that the transmission was “broken and unreadable.”
Minutes later, the Regan National tower controller warned the helicopter about a regional jet that was taking off.
The pilots saw the plane and held their position before flying on to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, where Trump boarded an Air Force One flight to Los Angeles, CNN reported.
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