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NTSB Report Details Radio Issue Before Marine One and Jet Near Miss at Reagan National

A preliminary NTSB report says radio communication problems preceded a close encounter between Marine One and an Envoy Air flight near Washington, D.C.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 27, 2026, 2:14 p.m. ETWritten Aug 27, 2026, 2:46 p.m. ET
A NTSB report details a radio communication issue that preceded a close encounter between Marine One and an near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on August 4, 2026, according to fox5dc.com. The incident occurred as the Envoy flight was climbing out of the airport. The two aircraft came closest about 2 miles north of the airport, with the FAA's estimate putting them about 0.82 nautical miles apart laterally and 700 feet apart vertically. Marine One departed from the Ellipse in Washington The helicopter's first attempt to contact the Reagan National Airport control tower was not received, and a second attempt was broken and unreadable. FAA technicians later determined there was not enough line-of-sight radio coverage between the tower's helicopter-control frequency and the Ellipse. The FAA moved the radios for that frequency from a nearby residential neighborhood to the top of the airport control tower after the incident. Under an agreement, a helicopter carrying the president is required to contact the airport tower three minutes before departure. The report said Marine One tried at least twice to make that call but could not get through. Without it, the local controller cleared the Envoy flight for takeoff. Marine One reached the tower once it climbed high enough for adequate radio contact, and the helicopter crew immediately reported seeing the jet after receiving a traffic advisory. The aircraft involved has not been identified. Registry records list as operating seven aircraft, five of which match the reported type ().

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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 Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.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 127 Aug 2026, 18:46current

    First published.

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