On August 28, 2026, President Trump’s helicopter, Marine One, experienced communication difficulties with air traffic controllers for the second time within a month. The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon as the helicopter was preparing for takeoff in Washington, D.C.
During this latest episode, Marine One’s attempts to contact air traffic control went unheard, prompting another pilot to step in to assist. This incident followed closely on the heels of a similar occurrence earlier in August, which raised concerns about the helicopter’s communication capabilities.
Previous Incident Details
On August 4, Marine One, carrying President Trump, flew dangerously close—within a mile—of a commercial jet that had just taken off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Marine One’s initial attempt to reach air traffic controllers that day was not received at all, while a subsequent attempt was described as «broken and completely unreadable.»
Technical Challenges
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) technicians indicated that there was insufficient line-of-sight for effective communication from the Ellipse, a large lawn near the White House that Marine One has been using for takeoffs due to ongoing construction at the White House.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had previously assured CBS News on August 11 that the communication issues had been resolved. He explained that recent infrastructure developments in Virginia and the D.C. area were causing interference with the communication antenna. Duffy stated, «We already have a fix in place and that should not take place again.» However, the recurrence of the issue on Thursday raises questions about the effectiveness of the proposed solutions.
FAA Response
In response to the latest communication failure, the FAA confirmed that air traffic controllers were ultimately able to establish contact with Marine One before its takeoff. However, the agency did not provide further details regarding the apparent re-emergence of the radio issues.
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