Washington, 06 August (H.S.): A scare unfolded in Washington airspace after an Envoy Air passenger aircraft (Embraer E170) came close to Marine One, the military helicopter carrying President Donald Trump. The incident has raised fresh concerns over air traffic control coordination, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to launch an investigation.

According to reports by The Wall Street Journal and CNN, the distance between Marine One and the passenger aircraft carrying out an Envoy Air flight was less than one mile during the incident.

FAA officials said the situation occurred after air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport’s tower faced delays in moving nearby aircraft due to unclear communication. The incident took place at around 2:30 pm.

President Trump had taken off from the White House for Joint Base Andrews aboard Marine One as the first leg of his scheduled journey to Los Angeles.

According to an audio recording posted on ATC.com, the Marine One crew attempted three times before takeoff to alert controllers at the National Airport tower that the helicopter was about three minutes away from departure. It is believed that the controllers did not receive the warning, following which the helicopter proceeded and entered the flight path of the Envoy Air passenger aircraft.

The incident has raised serious concerns as it comes after a tragic mid-air collision between a military helicopter and a passenger aircraft over Washington airspace on January 29 last year, which resulted in the deaths of 69 people.

Experts monitoring the FAA said Marine One came within 0.8 miles of horizontal distance and 700 feet of vertical distance from the passenger aircraft. In such situations, a horizontal separation of 1.5 miles or a vertical separation of 500 feet is generally considered a violation of safety standards, though the parameters may vary depending on the airspace and type of aircraft involved.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said Marine One is operated by some of the world’s most skilled pilots and that the White House has complete confidence in them.

“Although the distance narrowed briefly yesterday, the President was never in danger. However, the White House is conducting a fresh review to ensure the President’s safety,” Desai said.

FAA spokesperson Cassandra Nolan said, “Based on the initial safety review, the distance between the aircraft narrowed briefly, but there was no danger to the President.”

Marine Corps spokesperson Captain Jacob M. Sugg described the flight as routine and declined to provide further details regarding the incident.

According to flight tracking website FlightAware, the passenger aircraft was delayed by 34 minutes while preparing for departure from Reagan National Airport at 2:18 pm on Tuesday and took off at 2:34 pm, around 16 minutes later.

Reports said Marine One departed from the Ellipse near the White House at 2:33 pm to take President Trump to Joint Base Andrews, from where he was scheduled to fly to Los Angeles. The passenger aircraft later landed in Pensacola at 3:33 pm.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar