US Federal Aviation Administration reviews Marine One flight incident near airport: Report

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating an air-traffic safety incident involving President Donald Trump's Marine One helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon after Marine One departed the White House.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the report said air traffic controllers had not yet halted commercial departures at Reagan National as required under safety procedures for presidential helicopter operations.

FAA officials are reviewing whether the event resulted in a "loss of standard separation," the agency's protocol requiring aircraft to remain at least 1.5 miles apart horizontally and 500 feet vertically, the report said.

Despite the apparent procedural lapse, the FAA said the presidential helicopter and a commercial jet departing the airport did not come dangerously close and were not on converging flight paths, indicating the incident did not amount to a serious near miss.

“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 was quoted as saying.

The FAA has imposed stricter limits on helicopter and airplane operations around Reagan National since the Jan. 29, 2025 midair collision between a US Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet that killed 67 people.