New audio reveals the loss of communication between Marine One and an aircraft control tower that led to the presidential helicopter’s close call with a passenger jet.
On Aug. 4, Marine One took off from the White House Ellipse, destined for Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, where President Donald Trump then flew to Los Angeles. The helicopter came within 0.94 horizontal miles and 700 vertical feet of a passenger jet taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, because air traffic controllers there had not paused flights due to communications issues, The New York Times reported the next day.
Audio aired by CNN shows what transpired between the tower, Marine One, and a nearby helicopter. As CNN transportation correspondent Pete Muntean recapped, “The pilots of Marine One spend about four minutes trying to reach the tower to no avail, and the air traffic controller in the tower must ultimately rely on other helicopters flying nearby to relay the message.”
TOWER: Do me a favor: I can’t hear Marine One. If you hear Marine One, can you let me know?
AIRCRAFT: Affirm, we have positive comms with Marine One.
TOWER: Marine One, are you trying to reach me?
MARINE ONE: Affirm, National tower. Marine One proceeding as briefed with momentary delay.
TOWER: Marine One, roger, there’s helicopter traffic…
In a statement, the FAA told CNN, “The three-minute notification was communicated by alternate means, acknowledged by a controller, and positive contact was established with Marine One before takeoff.”
The audio of the Aug. 4 incident comes after communications between Marine One and the air traffic control tower got muddled once again on Thursday, CNN reported.
Also on Thursday, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board said the Aug. 4 interruption may have been due in part to construction of Trump’s White House ballroom forcing Marine One to take off from the Ellipse rather than the South Lawn.
Technicians “conducted a coverage analysis and determined that there was not adequate line-of-sight to ensure communications” from the Ellipse to the air traffic control tower “while construction was ongoing at the White House,” the report said.
The White House has maintained that Trump, 80, was never in danger.
“Marine One flights are piloted by the finest aviators in the world, and the White House maintains the utmost confidence in these patriots and other security officials who are responsible for ensuring the president’s safety,” spokesperson Kush Desai told the Daily Beast in a statement. “Although the president was at no point in harm’s way during the Aug. 4 momentary loss of separation, the White House continues to work with relevant military, FAA, and other security personnel to ensure the president’s continued safety.”
