The Federal Aviation Administration has relocated an antenna and changed procedures after a close-call event involving Marine One and a departing passenger jet near Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters the communications issue had been fixed after the 4 August incident, which involved a military helicopter carrying President Donald Trump and a commercial aircraft taking off from the airport.
The incident drew scrutiny because commercial traffic is normally halted when Marine One is operating nearby. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the event, while the FAA has been examining radio coverage and coordination around the airport. One review of the incident reportedly found the aircraft were 1.06 miles apart laterally.
The episode comes after the January 2025 helicopter-airliner crash that killed 67 people and prompted tighter restrictions on mixed helicopter and jet traffic around Reagan National. That backdrop has kept attention on airspace discipline and communication reliability in one of the United States’ most sensitive terminal areas.