Trump never in ‘harm’s way’ during Marine One incident: White House

Administration Trump never in ‘harm’s way’ during Marine One incident: White House Comments: by Max Rego - 08/06/26 8:33 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Max Rego - 08/06/26 8:33 AM ET Comments: Link copied

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President Trump was never in “harm’s way” when his Marine One helicopter came within a mile of a passenger jet on Tuesday, according to the White House.

“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 spokesperson Kush Desai told NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network.

The military helicopter jet carrying Trump came less than a mile from the jet, after air traffic controllers at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) failed to halt commercial flights before Marine One departed the White House for Joint Base Andrews (JBA) in Maryland, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported this week.

The incident reportedly occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. EDT, as Trump was flying to JBA to depart the Washington, D.C., area for Los Angeles.

A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told The Hill there “was momentary loss of separation” between the aircraft. Federal regulations require aircraft to maintain a safe distance from each other of 1.5 miles horizontally and 500 feet vertically.

“The air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial pilot and Marine One pilot during the loss of separation. As the White House has said, the President was never in danger,” the FAA spokesperson added.

“We are continuing to review the incident and will implement any appropriate corrective actions based on our findings,” they added.

The National Transportation Safety Board also said Wednesday it was investigating Tuesday’s incident.

In response to the deadly midair collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River in January 2025, which killed all 67 people on board both aircraft, FAA officials barred military helicopters conducting non-essential activities from operating in certain areas around DCA.