The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating an air traffic safety incident between Marine One and a commercial regional jet.
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Just the News reports that the incident was not a close-call and no aircraft were in immediate danger, but it marked a breach in FAA safety procedures, which calls for air traffic controllers to pause all commercial aircraft activity at the airport when Marine One takes off.
The two aircraft experienced a “momentary loss of separation” in the congested Washington D.C. airspace, reportedly passing within less than a mile of each other according to some reports, or 1.5 miles according to flight tracking data.
NEW: The FAA releases air traffic control audio from the miscommunication involving Marine One as President Trump departed the White House near Reagan National Airport.
The newly released recordings capture controllers directing aircraft during the incident, when the FAA says… pic.twitter.com/zBp0ilqps5
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 6, 2026
Air traffic controllers are required to pause all commercial traffic at DCA for three minutes before Marine One takes off.
According to ABC News, audio recordings from ATC.com indicate that the Marine One pilot broadcasted a three-minute warning multiple times, however, the local air traffic controller did not hear the transmission because another aircraft was speaking on the frequency at the exact same time.
Sources told Reuters and the Wall Street Journal that the incident took place at approximately 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, when Marine One took off from the White House lawn with the president on board.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the president was not in danger, stating: “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.”
Two sources told Reuters the FAA is planning to convene a Safety Review Team to look into the incident.
Those same sources said FAA rules require aircraft to remain separated by at least 1.5 miles horizontally and 500 feet vertically around airports and that no violation of that rule occurred.
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