Politics
NTSB report details radio signal issues in Marine One close call near Reagan National Airport
Federal investigators found poor radio coverage prevented controllers from hearing pre-departure warnings from the presidential helicopter prior to an August 4 near miss.
The short version
- A preliminary NTSB report released Thursday showed Marine One's crew made unreceived radio calls to controllers before departing from the White House Ellipse on Aug. 4.
- Because the warnings were not received, air traffic controllers cleared an Envoy Air passenger jet for takeoff, resulting in the aircraft passing within an estimated 0.82 nautical miles laterally and 700 feet vertically.
- FAA technicians subsequently moved the helicopter-control radios to the top of Reagan National Airport's control tower to eliminate a line-of-sight coverage gap caused by White House construction.
- Neither aircraft was damaged, no injuries were reported, and the NTSB is continuing to analyze radar data to confirm the closest distance between the flights.
Key facts
- The preliminary NTSB report found that Marine One's crew made unsuccessful radio calls to Reagan National Airport's helicopter-control frequency and Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling prior to lifting off on Aug. 4.[Fox News]
- Due to the unreceived departure warnings, controllers cleared Envoy Air Flight 3742 for takeoff from Runway 1 while Marine One departed the Ellipse about 2 miles north.[Fox News]
- Initial FAA estimates indicated the aircraft came within approximately 0.82 nautical miles laterally and roughly 700 feet vertically, meeting the applicable vertical separation requirement of 500 feet for Class B airspace.[Fox News]
- FAA technicians identified a lack of adequate line-of-sight coverage between the Ellipse transmitter-receiver site and the control tower, prompting the agency to relocate the radios to the top of the airport tower.[Fox News]
- Days prior to the event, on July 30, Marine Helicopter Squadron One met with tower staff to discuss spotty communications in the area.[Fox News]
- White House spokesman Kush Desai stated that President Trump was never in harm's way during the incident.[Fox News]