A safety incident involving the Marine One presidential helicopter and a commercial airliner is under review by federal officials after an air traffic control lapse near Washington, D.C. on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. ET as Marine One lifted off from the Ellipse near the White House with President Donald Trump on board. The helicopter was heading to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as the first leg of a trip to the West Coast, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Standard protocols require air traffic controllers to pause all other air traffic at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport three minutes before Marine One is set to take off. That did not happen. According to an air traffic communication recording provided by ATC.com, Marine One gave controllers a three-minute notice before takeoff, but a controller did not hear the transmission because someone else was talking on the frequency at the same time.
The FAA said preliminary information showed the incident resulted in a momentary loss of separation between Marine One and an American Airlines regional carrier flight that was also taking off from the airport. FAA rules require commercial aircraft to maintain a minimum of 1.5 miles of horizontal separation and 500 feet of vertical separation from any helicopter passing near the airport.
"Based on our preliminary safety review, there was momentary loss of separation after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another," the FAA 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."
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are both reviewing the incident. The agency said it "will implement any appropriate corrective actions based on our findings."
The White House moved quickly to address concerns about the president's safety. "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," the White House said in a statement Wednesday.
The FAA also stated that at no time did the American Airlines regional carrier flight get dangerously close to Marine One.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the incident Tuesday night. The FAA said its review is continuing.
