Air traffic controllers in Washington and the pilots of President Donald Trump’s helicopter met to discuss communication issues one week before a jet and the chopper were allowed to take off at the same time, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday.
\n\nBoth sides met to discuss the failures in communications and agreed to an alternative for such occasions — but that method was also unsuccessful on the day of the Aug. 4 incident at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report shows.
\n\nHaving both in the air at the same time seemed to violate safety procedures put in place after last year’s midair collision near the busy airport that killed 67 people, but officials stressed the president was never in danger. The Pentagon also has a longstanding agreement with the FAA to provide controllers with a three-minute warning before the president’s helicopter takes off that predates last year’s crash.
\n\nThe FAA decided after an airliner collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Jan. 29, 2025, that all takeoffs and landings at the airport would be halted anytime a helicopter passes by on a conflicting route. The airspace near the White House and Reagan…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business
