Trump Experiences Potential Helicopter Safety Mishap, Video Trends
- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigates a plane's takeoff coinciding with Marine One's departure amid safety procedure violations
- White House assures President Donald Trump was never in danger during the aviation incident at Reagan Airport
- Communication issues between military and civilian air traffic control raise concerns for airspace safety reforms
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Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering international affairs.
Washington, USA - It is not clear why a plane was allowed to take off as President Donald Trump’s helicopter was approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Tuesday afternoon, August 4, in an apparent violation of safety procedures put in place after the 2025 midair collision near the busy airport.
Both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday, August 5, they were investigating what happened when a commercial jet took off just 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.
Source: AFP
The FAA decided after 67 people died on January 29, 2025, when an airliner collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter, that all takeoffs and landings at the Washington, D.C., airport would be halted anytime a helicopter passes by on a conflicting route. The airspace near the White House and Reagan is heavily congested with military and commercial aircraft.
The aeroplane that took off Tuesday, August 4, was climbing above Marine One as the helicopter approached, so the two aircraft were not on a collision course.
Authorities noted in a statement that a preliminary investigation showed “there was a momentary loss of separation after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another.”
The FAA stated:
“The air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial pilot and Marine One pilot during the loss of separation."
The White House emphasised that Trump was never in danger.
“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,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement.
For the Marine Corps, it defended the actions of its helicopter pilots.
“There were no ‘close calls’ with the routine Marine One movement,” Marine Corps spokesperson Capt. Jacob Sugg said in an email. “Washington National Tower did not delay the helicopter crew, ask them to hold, or otherwise alter their flight profile.”
US: Tower audio reveals Marine One confusion
Audio recorded by Air Traffic Control shows the Marine One pilot calling the tower ahead of time:
“Tower, just want to make sure you copy. Marine One, three minutes to lift.”
The air traffic controller did not acknowledge that transmission, and after the pilot tried again, the controller said the message was broken and unreadable. So when Marine One's pilot announced the helicopter was proceeding as briefed, the controller seemed surprised.
“Uh, Marine One, you said, uh, you're proceeding as briefed?” the controller asked before giving the helicopter directions and commenting, “OK, no three minutes, roger, proceed as briefed.”
After the controller warned the helicopter about the plane taking off, the Marine One pilot said he saw the traffic and declared, “We'll be doing a momentary delay.”
The Wall Street Journal first reported the incident.
2025 air collision exposed communication issues
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 had not been working for more than three years, and the FAA had not even realised it.
The FAA took steps to ensure that helicopters and aeroplanes would no longer share the same airspace around the airport shortly after the investigation into the 2025 collision began. The rules also require air traffic controllers to use radar, and not rely on pilots' eyes, to maintain separation and require all military aircraft to broadcast their locations.
The main group of family members of the victims of 2025's crash questioned why the government has not done more to prevent collisions in the crowded airspace around Reagan in a post Wednesday, August 5, on the social platform X (formerly Twitter). 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.
Watch the viral video below via the X post showing the helicopter carrying Trump flying near a passenger jet in Washington airspace:
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Gunman opens fire near Trump's White House
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the death of a man who opened fire near a White House security checkpoint.
It was the third recent incident of gunfire in the vicinity of President Trump.
The man was in the area of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue when he “pulled a weapon from his bag" and began firing. Secret Service officers returned fire and hit the suspect, who died at a hospital, the agency said.
Source: Legit.ng
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Ridwan Adeola Yusuf (Current Affairs Editor) Ridwan Adeola Yusuf is a content writer with more than nine years of experience, He is also a Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from the Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State (2014). Ridwan previously worked at Africa Check, contributing to fact-checking research works within the organisation. He is an active member of the Academic Excellence Initiative (AEI). In March 2024, Ridwan completed the full Google News Initiative Lab workshop and his effort was recognised with a Certificate of Completion. Email: ridwan.adeola@corp.legit.ng.
