The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it is reviewing a potential violation of a new safety protocol and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also investigating, after an incident Tuesday involving a commercial plane and the Marine One helicopter with President Donald Trump on board, Fox News Digital confirmed.
The incident occurred when a commercial plane took off from Reagan International Airport at the same time that Trump was departing the White House on Marine One, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The White House said Trump was never in any danger.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AUDIO CAPTURES TENSE MOMENT TWO PLANES NEARLY COLLIDED AT BOSTON LOGAN AIRPORT
“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,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News in a statement.
The NTSB on Wednesday afternoon posted on X that it is “investigating a reported loss of separation event between Marine One and a commercial aircraft departing DCA that occurred on Aug. 4.”
The FAA, in a statement to Fox News Digital, reiterated the White House’s point about the president’s safety.
“Based on our preliminary safety review, there was momentary loss of separation, after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another. The air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial pilot and Marine One pilot during the loss of separation. As the White House has said, the president was never in danger. We are continuing to review the incident and will implement any appropriate corrective actions based on our findings,” the statement said.
A loss of separation is a breach of FAA rules that stipulate that aircraft at the same height must be at least three miles apart if they are within 40 miles of an Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR) antenna.
Trump was departing the White House for a planned trip to Los Angeles when the incident occurred.
When contacted for comment, the U.S. Secret Service referred Fox News to the White House and FAA’s comments.
Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this post.
