This is one of those stories where you just thank God that it didn't go bad, and you say, "How could that have happened?"
It's certainly concerning that you even have anything like this.
A military helicopter carrying President Trump came within less than a mile of a passenger jet above Washington on Tuesday after garbled communications between his crew and air traffic controllers in Ronald Reagan National Airport’s tower delayed the controllers from clearing nearby air traffic, according to two people familiar with federal officials’ initial assessment.
The incident occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m. as Mr. Trump was flying to Joint Base Andrews from the White House on the initial leg of a planned trip to Los Angeles.
Marine One repeatedly warned the controllers they were about to take off to Andrews, but there appears to have been confusion.
The communications appeared not to have been heard by the controller, and the helicopter advanced. That put it in the flight path of an Envoy Air passenger jet, a haunting situation after a tragic collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet in the Washington airspace last year.
The controller then warned Marine One a minute after their takeoff that there was "traffic."
As we've seen, there's a problem there with a lot of traffic and a strain on their ability to deal with it. There was even a problem the day before the January 2025 crash.
How close was it with Trump's helicopter?
At their closest proximity, Marine One came within 0.8 miles of lateral distance and 700 feet of vertical distance from the passenger jet, according to the two people with knowledge of the Federal Aviation Administration’s preliminary findings.
A loss of safe separation — the distance between two aircraft that is needed to reduce the likelihood of a collision — is defined by the F.A.A. in a case like this as breaching either 1.5 miles in lateral distance or 500 feet in vertical distance. But the parameters can vary depending on the airspace and the types of aircraft.
Cassandra Nolan, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), explained that “based on our preliminary safety review,” there had been a “momentary loss of separation,” that the president was “never in danger,” but that a “review” continues.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy RedState's conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member