WASHINGTON -- The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why a plane was allowed to take off as President Donald Trump’s helicopter was approaching Reagan National Airport Tuesday afternoon in what appears to be a violation of safety procedures put in place after last year’s midair collision near that busy Washington D.C. airport. The incident occurred as Marine One left the White House for Andrews Air Force Base with the president aboard for the first leg of a West Coast trip. A commercial jet took off at the same time. The FAA decided after 67 people died on Jan. 29, 2025 when an airliner collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter that all takeoffs and landings at Reagan would be halted anytime a helicopter passes by the airport. The airplane that took off Tuesday was climbing above Marine One as the helicopter approached, so the two aircraft were not on a collision course. The FAA said in a statement that the preliminary investigation showed “there was a momentary loss of separation after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another.” “The air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial pilot and Marine One pilot during the loss of separation,” the FAA said. The White House emphasized that U.S. President Trump was not in danger during the incident. “Marine One flights are piloted by some of the best aviators in the world, and at no point was the President in harm’s way,” said White House spokesman, Kush Desai. And the Marine Corps defended the actions of their helicopter pilots. “There were no `close calls’ with the routine Marine One movement,” Tuesday, said Marine Corps spokesman, Capt. Jacob Sugg in an email. “Washington National Tower did not delay the helicopter crew, ask them to hold, or otherwise alter their flight profile. To the contrary, the ATC team approved the requested route and provided timely and appropriate traffic information.” The Wall Street Journal first reported the incident. The airspace near the White House and Reagan is heavily congested with military and commercial aircraft. Poor communication between the military and the civilian air traffic controllers at Reagan has been an issue in the past. It came out last spring after one of the hearings on the midair collision that a hotline connecting the Pentagon to the tower at Reagan hadn’t been working for more than three years, and the FAA hadn’t even realized it. The Federal Aviation Administration took steps to ensure that helicopters and airplanes would no longer share the same airspace around Reagan National Airport shortly after the investigation into last year’s midair collision began. The rules also prohibit air traffic controllers from relying on visual separation and require all military aircraft to broadcast their locations. The main group of family members of the victims of last year’s crash questioned why the government hasn’t done more to prevent collisions in the crowded airspace around Reagan in a post on X Wednesday morning. The family members have been urging Congress to reach a compromise and pass the package of aviation safety reforms that the NTSB recommended after the midair collision. The NTSB said Wednesday morning that it is still gathering information about Tuesday’s incident involving Marine One and hasn’t yet decided whether to investigate. Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Josh Funk And Gary Fields, The Associated Press
