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Marine One failed to notify Reagan National airport before near-miss
Fox News • • nation
Key Points:
- Marine One’s crew made multiple unsuccessful attempts to notify Reagan National Airport before departing on August 4, resulting in a missed three-minute departure warning to air traffic controllers.
- This communication failure led to Envoy Air Flight 3742 being cleared for takeoff as Marine One departed, bringing the two aircraft within about 0.82 nautical miles laterally and 700 feet vertically, though no injuries or damage occurred.
- The FAA identified inadequate radio line-of-sight coverage between the transmitter site and the Ellipse, prompting relocation of helicopter-control radios to Reagan National’s control tower to improve communications.
- A prior meeting on July 30 had highlighted "spotty" communications with Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), and procedures were agreed to use backup notification methods, which still failed on August 4.
- The NTSB’s ongoing investigation has not yet determined probable cause, emphasizing the incident met FAA vertical separation standards and that President Trump was never in danger during the event.
