US President Donald Trump’s military helicopter, Marine One, briefly flew too close to a passenger jet departing from Washington’s Reagan National Airport on Tuesday, August 6, 2026, prompting investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Marine One took off from the Ellipse near the White House at approximately 2:33 pm local time (18:33 GMT), en route to Joint Base Andrews ahead of a presidential trip to Los Angeles. According to a source cited by Reuters, Envoy Air flight 3742, a regional jet operated on behalf of American Airlines and bound for Pensacola, Florida, was the passenger aircraft involved. A second flight, Republic 4700, was rerouted as a precaution after coming within three miles of the airport.

The FAA stated in a preliminary safety review that there was “a momentary loss of separation, after which the aircraft continued to move away from one another.” However, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that air traffic controllers at Reagan National had failed to pause commercial departures during Marine One’s departure, contrary to policies adopted after a crash last year.

The NTSB announced it will conduct its own investigation into the incident.

Sources