Marine One had the US president aboard when it reportedly came within 1.3 km of an Envoy Air plane in Washington airspace
US aviation authorities have launched an investigation into a possible air safety breach involving Marine One, which was carrying US President Donald Trump, and a passenger jet in Washington, DC airspace, multiple media outlets reported on Wednesday.
Marine One departed the White House for Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday, where Trump was due to board a flight to Los Angeles, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the incident. Air traffic controllers failed to suspend commercial flights at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport as required under safety protocols, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The incident resulted in a temporary loss of separation between Marine One and an Envoy Air passenger jet, prompting investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Both aircraft landed safely, according to media reports. The FAA said controllers remained in contact with both aircraft as they moved away from one another and reiterated the White House’s statement that “the President was never in danger.”
Two people familiar with the FAA’s preliminary findings told The New York Times that, at their closest point, Marine One came within 0.8 miles (1.3 km) laterally and 700 feet (213 meters) vertically of the passenger jet.
The incident comes after the deadly January 2025 collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter, which prompted the FAA to permanently restrict helicopter operations around Reagan National Airport and eliminate mixed helicopter and fixed-wing traffic in the area. Under current procedures, commercial flights must also be suspended whenever Marine One operates in the airport’s airspace.
The January crash occurred as the American Airlines aircraft was on final approach to Reagan National Airport. Both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River after the collision, killing all 64 people aboard the passenger jet and the three crew members on the helicopter.
Many of those on board were athletes, coaches, and family members returning from the US Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. Among them were Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, the 1994 world champion figure skaters and former Russian Olympians, who moved to the US in 1998 and later worked as coaches.
