FAA investigating plane & Pres. Trump helicopter incident

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an incident between a commercial airliner and Marine One, the helicopter carrying President Trump, after the aircraft broke safety protocols during a departure from the White House earlier this week.

Federal aviation agencies stated they are working to determine what happened during the incident on Tuesday when the plane got too close to the president’s helicopter.

“It wasn’t until Marine One got airborne and contacted Washington National Tower, did the Washington National Controller actually understand that Marine One was actually in the air,” said Michael McCormick, Associate Professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

McCormick said Marine One typically informs the Reagan airport control tower when the helicopter is three minutes away from departing. A temporary ground stop at the airport is also required when Marine one is departing nearby.

He said they also require a certain amount of distance to be maintained between Marine One and other aircraft.

“In the instance of Marine One, the required separation standard is one and a half miles vertically or 500ft in altitude between them,” said McCormick.

In a statement, the FAA said the separation was not maintained.

“Based on our preliminary safety review, there was momentary loss of separation after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another,” the agency said in a statement. “The air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial pilot and Marine One pilot during the loss of separation. As the White House has said, the President was never in danger. We are continuing to review the incident and will implement any appropriate corrective actions based on our findings.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the incident.

The White House also said the president was never in danger.

“Marine One flights are piloted by the finest aviators in the world, and the White House maintains the utmost confidence in these patriots and other security officials who are responsible for ensuring the President’s safety,” said spokesman Kush Desai. “Although the President was at no point in harm’s way during Tuesday’s momentary loss of separation, the White House continues to work with relevant military, FAA, and other security personnel to ensure the President’s continued safety.”

Long-time aviation attorney and pilot Arthur Alan Wolk said the risk of a collision was limited given the flight paths involved, but stressed the importance of maintaining separation standards.

“One aircraft was climbing away and the other aircraft, Marine One, was in level flight. So the risk of collision was very remote in this case. However, as pilots and as citizens, we don’t want to lose separation,” Wolk said.

The incident drew renewed attention to the airspace over the nation’s capital, which was the site of the deadly Flight 5342 mid-air collision in January 2025.

McCormick said the incident is likely to resurface concerns from that crash.

“I believe the greatest concern that people would have about the loss of separation between Marine One and an aircraft departing a Washington Reagan National Airport is that it focuses and reminds them about the mid-air collision that occurred their last January.”