Marine One loses communication with ATC again
Summary
Marine One, the presidential helicopter carrying President Donald Trump, lost communication with air traffic controllers twice in August 2026 near Washington, D.C. Federal officials investigated and took steps to fix the issue, but the communication problem happened again just after a report said it was resolved.Key Facts
- Marine One lost communication with air traffic controllers at Reagan National Airport twice in August 2026, once on August 4 and again on August 27.
- On August 27, pilots warned controllers minutes before takeoff, but controllers did not respond or hear Marine One’s transmissions.
- Another helicopter relayed Marine One’s messages to the control tower during the communication failure.
- After takeoff, Marine One regained communication and flew President Trump to Joint Base Andrews.
- On August 4, Marine One and a nearby commercial jet came within 0.82 miles horizontally and 700 feet vertically, though they were not on a collision path.
- FAA rules require helicopters and planes near Reagan National Airport to maintain specific safe distances.
- Investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FAA revealed a radio transmitter was blocked from line of sight due to the White House Ellipse landing zone’s temporary location.
- The FAA moved the transmitter to a better spot and reported no further issues during tests, but did not explain why the problem happened again on August 27.
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