The helicopter carrying U.S. President Trump encountered a flight safety incident in Washington on the 4th, but the White House stated that at no time was Trump "in any danger."
The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into the incident.
According to The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Reuters, on the afternoon of the 4th, Trump took the 'Marine One' helicopter from outside the White House to Joint Base Andrews, where he transferred to the 'Air Force One' aircraft to travel to Los Angeles.
According to flight safety regulations, before Trump's helicopter takes off, air traffic controllers at the nearby Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport should prohibit other aircraft from flying nearby. However, a passenger jet took off at almost the same time as Trump's aircraft.
FAA regulations stipulate that aircraft near airports must maintain at least 1.5 miles (about 2.4 kilometers) of horizontal separation and 500 feet (0.15 kilometers) of vertical separation. Two sources said that the separation between Trump’s aircraft and the passenger jet appeared to not meet these requirements. However, there seemed to be no risk of collision.
Both Trump’s aircraft and the passenger jet eventually landed safely.
On the night of January 29, 2025, a passenger plane carrying 64 people collided with a military helicopter carrying 3 soldiers during landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Both aircraft crashed and there were no survivors. The investigation concluded that the key cause of the accident was the two aircraft’s flight paths were too close; in addition, tower controllers at the airport were overworked, failed to provide sufficient safety warnings, and relied excessively on pilots to visually spot other aircraft and maintain separation.
After that air disaster, the FAA prohibited helicopters and jets from simultaneously flying in the airspace around the airport. When "Marine One" is flying, the airspace around the airport should be clear. According to reports, the crew of Marine One usually notifies airport air traffic controllers at least three minutes before takeoff.
Call records obtained by CNN show that the crew of Trump’s aircraft contacted the air traffic controller three minutes prior to takeoff, but the latter replied that the message was unclear. A few minutes later, the crew notified the controller they were taking off as planned, and the controller warned that a passenger jet had already taken off from the airport. The crew responded that they had seen the jet and were holding the helicopter’s position in midair, then would proceed with the flight.