NTSB: Marine One radio failures preceded near-miss with jet

A preliminary federal report released Thursday revealed that the crew of Marine One, the presidential helicopter carrying President Donald Trump, made multiple unsuccessful attempts to notify air traffic control at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport before its August 4 departure, leading to a near-miss with a commercial passenger jet. The National Transportation Safety Board report detailed a series of communication failures that allowed the helicopter and an Envoy Air flight to take off simultaneously, resulting in what the Federal Aviation Administration classified as a loss of standard separation.

According to the NTSB, the Marine One crew first tried to contact the airport's helicopter-control frequency while departing from the Ellipse, a park near the White House. That initial transmission was not received. A second attempt was broken and unreadable. The crew then tried to relay the required three-minute takeoff notification through the helicopter facility at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, but that effort also failed. The missed warnings meant Reagan National controllers did not receive the notice that would have required them to halt departures before the...