Trump narrowly escapes as Marine One and passenger plane nearly collide

The White House has ordered a federal investigation, citing a security lapse.

US President Donald Trump's helicopter Marine One narrowly avoided a collision with a passenger aircraft. The White House has termed it a security lapse and ordered a federal investigation.

According to a report by CNN, a passenger plane came less than a mile away from Trump's helicopter Marine One in Washington on Tuesday. The report states that the helicopter took off from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base at almost the same time an American Airlines passenger jet took off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Following reports from officials about the reduced safe distance between the aircraft, a federal investigation was initiated.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said,

“Marine One is flown by some of the world's finest pilots, and at no time was the President's safety at risk.” However, after unclear communication with the air traffic controller, both aircraft came close to each other.

The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed that it has begun investigating the alleged incident of reduced safe distance between Marine One and the commercial aircraft taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

It is noteworthy that during the President's flights, aircraft operations at Reagan National Airport, located about three miles from the White House, are usually halted.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated, “Based on our initial safety review, there was a breach of the prescribed safe distance between the two aircraft for a short period, after which both aircraft moved away from each other. We are continuing to review the incident and will take necessary corrective actions based on the investigation's findings.” The NTSB also announced on Wednesday that it has started investigating the incident.

It is significant that since last year's collision between a US Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger plane, the highly congested airspace around Reagan National Airport has been under continuous scrutiny. In that accident, all 67 people aboard the aircraft were killed. Following that crash, the FAA imposed strict restrictions on helicopter flights around the airport.

According to CNN, a review of the air traffic control audio recordings reveals that Marine One pilots informed the Reagan National tower controller at least three times that they were preparing to take off. However, there was no clear confirmation of these messages from the controller, and aircraft operations at the airport continued. According to the audio, at 2:31 PM, a pilot said,

“Tower, are you listening? Marine One, three minutes to takeoff.” The pilot contacted again, but the controller replied that the message was “broken and unintelligible.” A few minutes later, the pilots reported that they were departing on the designated route. Subsequently, the controller warned the helicopter pilots about a passenger plane that had already taken off. The pilots stated that they had visual contact with the aircraft and maintained their position. They then proceeded to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where Trump boarded the Air Force One flight to Los Angeles.

The FAA stated, “During the breach of safe distance, the air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial aircraft's pilot and Marine One's pilot. According to a pool report, Marine One took off from the Ellipse near the South Lawn of the White House at around 2:33 PM. About a minute later, at 2:34 PM, American Airlines Flight 3742 took off from Reagan National Airport. It was an E170 regional jet operated by Envoy Air and was headed to Pensacola, Florida. Envoy Air is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines.

According to Flightradar24 tracking, the commercial aircraft passed approximately 1.5 miles from the Ellipse. Both aircraft landed safely. In a video recorded by independent journalist Dave Statter, the passenger plane can be seen climbing while the helicopter moves in the opposite direction against the city skyline. A spokesperson for the US Marine Corps told CNN, “The flight of Marine One on August 4 was routine. Washington National Tower neither delayed the helicopter crew's flight, asked them to hold, nor altered their flight path in any way.”