Marine One’s crew made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to notify Reagan National Airport that President Donald Trump’s helicopter was preparing to depart on Aug. 4 before it flew near a commercial passenger jet, according to a preliminary federal report released Thursday. The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report said the crew’s first call to Reagan National’s helicopter-control frequency before departing from the Ellipse was not received. A second transmission was "broken and completely unreadable." After failing to reach the tower, the Marine One crew tried to relay the required three-minute notification through the helicopter facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, but that effort was unsuccessful as well, according to the report.
TRUMP EYES NEW WHITE HOUSE LAWN PROJECT THAT COULD RESHAPE PRESIDENTIAL TRAVEL The missed warning meant Reagan National controllers did not receive notice that would have required them to stop departures before the presidential helicopter lifted off. Instead, Envoy Air Flight 3742, an Embraer E-170 bound for Pensacola, Florida, was cleared to take off from Runway 1 as Trump departed the White House aboard Marine One for a planned trip to Los Angeles. The passenger jet was beginning its initial climb as Marine One departed the Ellipse, about 2 miles north of the airport, the NTSB said.
The FAA’s preliminary estimate found the aircraft came within about 0.82 nautical miles of one another laterally and roughly 700 feet vertically. No one was injured, neither aircraft was damaged, and both flights continued without further incident. FAA PROBES JFK NEAR MISS AFTER ANOTHER RECENT CLOSE CALL FUELS SCRUTINY OF AIR TRAFFIC SAFETY The Envoy flight crew said the jet’s traffic-collision system announced, "Traffic, Traffic," as the aircraft climbed and accelerated after takeoff.
The pilots did not visually spot Marine One, but said the helicopter appeared to the right and below their aircraft on the cockpit display. The system did not issue a resolution advisory, a more urgent instruction telling pilots to climb or descend to avoid another aircraft, according to the NTSB report. PILOTS ACCIDENTALLY BROADCAST 'MEOWING' OVER REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT FREQUENCY Marine One was eventually able to contact the tower after climbing high enough to establish reliable communications.
Controllers then issued a traffic advisory, and the helicopter crew immediately reported having the Envoy jet in sight, the report said. The newly released report also shows the communications concern had been raised just days earlier. HOUSE TO VOTE ON AVIATION SAFETY BILL AFTER DEADLY DC MIDAIR CRASH On July 30, Marine Helicopter Squadron One, known as HMX-1, met with Reagan National tower staff to discuss operations in the area.
During that meeting, HMX-1 told controllers that communications had been "spotty," the NTSB said. Controllers had also raised concerns that HMX-1 crews had not always provided the required three-minute warning before takeoff. The two sides agreed that helicopter crews would use backup methods to reach the tower, including relaying the notification through another aircraft, if direct radio communication failed.
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