Marine One carrying Trump briefly loses separation with passenger jet
Marine One briefly lost separation with a passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport while carrying President Trump, according to federal officials. The FAA said the president was never in danger.
The incident happened Tuesday afternoon after Marine One departed the Ellipse near the White House at around 2:33 p.m. Trump was traveling to Joint Base Andrews for a flight to Los Angeles.
Envoy Air Flight 3742, an Embraer E170 bound for Pensacola, Florida, departed Reagan National about a minute later and was involved in the incident, according to Reuters. Envoy Air is a regional subsidiary of American Airlines.
Air traffic controllers had not halted commercial flights at Reagan National before Marine One took off, as required under safety protocols, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The FAA said a preliminary safety review found a “momentary loss of separation,” after which the aircraft continued moving away from each other. An air traffic controller remained in contact with both pilots throughout the incident.
Federal rules require aircraft in the area to remain at least 1.5 miles apart horizontally or 500 feet apart vertically, according to the Journal. The aircraft were not converging and did not appear to have come dangerously close, but their exact distance was not immediately released.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said Wednesday that it’s investigating the incident.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
