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NTSB Preliminary Report Details Near-Miss Between Marine One and Passenger Jet

A preliminary NTSB report says communication issues may have contributed to a close call between President Trump's helicopter and a passenger jet in August.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 27, 2026, 8:13 p.m. ETWritten Aug 27, 2026, 8:29 p.m. ET
A National Transportation Safety Board report says that communication issues may have contributed to a near-miss between and a passenger jet on August 4, 2026, in , according to The Daily Beast. The report suggests that President Trump's helicopter taking off from the Ellipse instead of the South Lawn, due to construction of his ballroom, could have contributed to the communication issues. The incident occurred when took off from the White House Ellipse heading to Joint Base Andrews. Trump came within 0.82 nautical miles and 700 feet vertically of a passenger jet. A controller missed multiple warnings from that it was about to take off, and cleared an Envoy Air jet for . The incident resulted in a breach of safety protocols, as federal rules require a minimum separation of 1.5 nautical miles horizontally or 500 feet vertically. The White House insists Trump was never 'in harm's way.' The cause of the incident has not been determined, and the investigation is ongoing.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Terrain elevation
39 ft
Nearest aerodrome
3.0 miles N of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA/DCA)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 128 Aug 2026, 00:29current

    First published.

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