A near-miss between a presidential helicopter and a commercial jet during takeoff from the White House has been linked to the recent relocation of a helipad as part of ongoing White House reconstruction. The National Transportation Safety Board cited communication failures as the primary cause, noting that the helicopter crew failed to provide the mandatory three-minute advance notice to air traffic control before departure. Investigators suggest the helipad’s repositioning contributed to the oversight, raising questions about coordination between military and civilian aviation protocols. The preliminary report highlights potential risks in managing high-profile airspace near government facilities.
Helipad relocation led in part to incident where Marine One, carrying the president, had close call with passenger jetSafety officials say the relocation of a helipad amid Donald Trump’s multi-project White House reconstruction led in part to an incident earlier this month in which a military helicopter carrying the president came too close to a passenger jet.A preliminary report published Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) blamed “communication issues” for the failure of the crew of Marine One, the presidential helicopter, to give the required three minutes’ notice to air traffic controllers that they were about to take off from the White House. Continue reading...
