The Federal Aviation Administration has relocated an antenna and changed a procedure after a communications problem during a 4 August incident involving Marine One near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where the presidential helicopter came too close to a departing passenger jet. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the issue had been resolved, following a review of the event by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Preliminary findings indicate the radio site did not have adequate line of sight to The Ellipse, where Marine One was temporarily operating because of White House construction. That meant air traffic controllers did not reliably receive the standard three-minute departure call from the helicopter before it lifted off. After the equipment was moved to the top of DCA’s control tower, follow-up checks found no further communications problems.
The incident involved a loss of separation between Marine One and an Envoy Air regional jet at one of the country’s most sensitive airports. The NTSB preliminary report placed the closest proximity at about 0.82 miles laterally and 700 feet vertically, while investigators continue to review surveillance data and other sources.