Politics
NTSB finds White House construction and radio failures led to Marine One near-miss
A preliminary safety report indicates radio glitches following a temporary helipad move caused Marine One to take off without proper notice, resulting in a loss of separation with a passenger jet.
The short version
- A preliminary NTSB report found that radio communication failures linked to a temporary helipad relocation caused Marine One to take off without giving air traffic controllers the required three-minute notice on Aug. 4.
- Because notice was not received, departures at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were not halted, leading to a loss of separation between the presidential helicopter and an American Airlines subsidiary Embraer E170 jet.
- Federal Aviation Administration officials relocated an antenna and updated procedures following the incident, though controllers briefly lost radio contact with Marine One again during a flight later in the month.
Key facts
- A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report attributed an Aug. 4 loss of separation between Marine One and a commercial passenger jet to communication failures and a temporary helipad relocation.[The Guardian]
- Presidential helicopter flights were moved in May from the White House South Lawn to the Ellipse to accommodate ongoing White House construction.[The Guardian]
- During the Aug. 4 incident, Marine One's crew attempted radio contact at least twice directly and tried using a backup facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, but both communication channels failed.[The Guardian]
- Marine One lifted off at 2:33 p.m. and the passenger jet departed one minute later, with the jet being rerouted out of caution.[The Guardian]
- At their closest point, the aircraft were separated by 0.82 nautical miles horizontally and 700 feet vertically, below the FAA standard requirement of at least 1.5 miles lateral separation.[The Guardian]
- FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated the agency relocated an antenna and adjusted communication procedures after the Aug. 4 incident.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- The FAA previously stated at the time of the event that the encounter did not appear to be a dangerous close call and that the aircraft were not converging.[The Guardian]