NEW: FAA Investigates Potential ‘Near Miss’ Safety Incident Involving Marine One

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating a potential violation of safety protocols after a commercial aircraft and Marine One, which was carrying President Donald Trump, experienced a momentary loss of separation near Reagan Washington National Airport on August 4.

The incident occurred as Trump departed the White House on Marine One en route to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland for a subsequent flight to Los Angeles. According to pool reports, Marine One lifted off from the Ellipse near the White House at approximately 2:33 p.m. Eastern Time. One minute later, at 2:34 p.m., Envoy Air Flight 3742, a regional Embraer E170 jet operated by an American Airlines subsidiary and bound for Pensacola, Florida, departed from Reagan National Airport

Under procedures established by the FAA following the January 29, 2025 midair collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter near the airport that resulted in 67 fatalities, commercial takeoffs and landings at Reagan National are to be halted whenever a helicopter such as Marine One operates in the vicinity. Controllers are typically provided at least three minutes’ advance notice before Marine One departures to clear the airspace.

According to a report from Reuters, which cited multiple sources familiar with the incident, commercial operations were not paused in this instance.

Air traffic control audio indicated that Marine One pilots contacted the Reagan National tower beginning around 2:31 p.m. “Tower, do you copy. Marine One, three minutes to lift,” one transmission stated. Subsequent transmissions followed, and at one point the controller stated that a transmission was “broken and unreadable.”

Later, after Marine One reported proceeding as briefed, the controller acknowledged and advised the helicopter of traffic rotating off Runway 1, an Embraer E170. Marine One pilots reported the traffic in sight and executed a momentary delay before continuing.

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NEW: STATter911 video showing a jet departing Runway 1 at DCA as the helicopter with President Trump was over East Potomac Park heading toward Joint Base Andrews. As @WSJ reports, the normal procedure of stopping commercial flights at Reagan National did not occur this afternoon… https://t.co/l3qGgDvXfa pic.twitter.com/lj4K19818w

— Dave Statter (@STATter911) August 5, 2026

FAA rules require aircraft near airports to maintain at least 1.5 miles of horizontal separation and 500 feet of vertical separation. Sources reported that the required separation between Marine One and the departing jet was not maintained.

A third aircraft, Republic Flight 4700 arriving from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, was directed to circle and landed at 2:52 p.m. Both Marine One and Envoy Air 3742 ultimately completed their flights without further incident.

“Based on our preliminary safety review, there was 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 announced in a statement. “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.”

White House spokesman Kush Desai also issued a statement. “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.” A Marine Corps statement described the flight as routine and noted that the Washington National Tower “did not delay the helicopter crew, ask them to hold, or otherwise alter their flight profile. The [air traffic control] team approved the requested route and provided timely and appropriate traffic information.”

The review remains ongoing, with any corrective actions to be determined based on findings. Reagan National Airport is located fewer than five miles from the White House, and the airspace has been subject to heightened restrictions on mixed helicopter and fixed-wing traffic since the 2025 collision.

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