FAA Investigates Near Miss Involving Trump’s Marine One

By Staff, Agencies

US aviation authorities have opened an investigation into a possible air safety incident involving Marine One, carrying President Donald Trump, and a commercial passenger aircraft in Washington airspace, according to multiple media reports.

The incident occurred on Tuesday as Marine One departed the White House for Joint Base Andrews, where Trump was scheduled to board a flight to Los Angeles.

According to The Wall Street Journal, air traffic controllers failed to suspend commercial operations at nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, as required under security and safety procedures during presidential helicopter movements.

The reported lapse resulted in a temporary loss of separation between Marine One and an Envoy Air passenger jet, prompting investigations by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Both aircraft landed safely, and the FAA said controllers remained in communication with both pilots while the aircraft maneuvered away from each other. The agency also reiterated the White House's statement that "the President was never in danger."

Sources familiar with the FAA's preliminary findings told The New York Times that the two aircraft came within approximately 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometers) horizontally and 700 feet (213 meters) vertically of one another.

The incident comes more than a year after the January 2025 mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a US Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan National Airport, which killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.

Following that crash, the FAA permanently restricted helicopter operations around Reagan National Airport and introduced procedures requiring commercial flights to be suspended whenever Marine One operates in the surrounding airspace.