Marine One helicopter crew failed to reach air traffic control before safety incident, report says

On Jul 30, Marine One and air traffic control staff met and controllers sought “to discuss concern with recent reports of their not receiving the required 3-minute-to-liftoff call”, the NTSB said.

The Marine One crew said communications “had been spotty,” the NTSB said and they agreed to use other means of communicating with the tower in situations where they were unable to reach them.

FAA rules require aircraft to remain separated by at least 2.4km horizontally and 152m vertically around airports. The NTSB said Marine One and the plane were at one point separated by 1.5km laterally and 213m vertically.

Envoy Air 3742, an Embraer E170 regional jet, was bound for Pensacola, Florida. Another regional flight, Republic 4700, was 4.8km from Reagan during the incident and was rerouted out of caution.

The FAA imposed permanent restrictions on helicopter operations around Washington’s Reagan Airport after the January 2025 midair collision between an ⁠American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter.