TRUMP'S HELICOPTER COMES TOO CLOSE TO PASSENGER JET AT REAGAN AIRPORT

President Donald Trump's military helicopter Marine One came within unsafe separation distance of a passenger jet departing Washington's Reagan National Airport on Tuesday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA said in a statement that its preliminary safety review found "a momentary loss of separation, after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another". The FAA stated that Trump was not in danger and that an air traffic controller remained in contact with both pilots throughout the incident. Both aircraft landed safely.

According to two people familiar with the matter, air traffic controllers did not pause commercial departures at Reagan National as required under policy adopted following a January 2025 collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet that killed 67 people. A source identified Envoy Air flight 3742, a regional jet operated on behalf of American Airlines and bound for Pensacola, Florida, as the aircraft involved in Tuesday's incident. FAA rules require aircraft to maintain separation of at least 1.5 miles horizontally and 500 feet vertically around airports. Marine One lifted off from the Ellipse near the White House at approximately 2:33pm local time on Tuesday, en route to Joint Base Andrews ahead of a presidential trip to Los Angeles.

The incident raises questions about adherence to safety protocols established after the fatal 2025 collision. The FAA implemented rules barring mixed helicopter and jet traffic around the airport following that crash. Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board announced investigations into Tuesday's incident.