The August 4 incident with the US presidential helicopter, Marine One, which took off before the service was stopped at Washington airport, occurred due to communication problems, writes The New York Times (NYT), citing the interim results of an investigation by federal authorities. The reason for this could be the relocation of the helipad due to construction work begun on his orders.
The US Department of Transportation and the White House insisted that Trump was not in danger on August 4, but it became known that his helicopter took off almost simultaneously with the passenger airliner in Washington. It took off from Ronald Reagan National Airport, despite the fact that traffic was supposed to stop until the president flew away to a safe distance.
Air traffic controllers at the airport reportedly complained of intermittent and unclear communications with Trump's helicopter. Marine One pilots spotted the plane themselves and briefly detained the presidential transport. Under similar circumstances last year, an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger plane carrying skaters collided over Washington. The victims of that disaster were 67 people.
As the NYT found out after reviewing a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), radio interference on August 4 may have arisen due to the “suboptimal” new take-off location of the presidential helicopter.
The site was moved due to Trump's construction of the White House ballroom, which activists are currently trying to challenge in court. Previous presidents have taken off from the South Lawn of the White House, and Trump most recently took off from Ellipse Park.
“Technicians analyzed radio coverage and concluded that the line of sight was insufficient for communication,” the newspaper quoted the report as saying.
Shortly before the NTSB report was released, Brian Bedford, head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), told reporters that the agency had moved the air traffic control antenna to eliminate potential problems.
The NYT writes that on Thursday, August 27, Trump’s pilots again failed to clearly transmit a message to dispatchers at the airport. Marine One eventually contacted other helicopters nearby to notify the tower that they were about to take off.
“Oh, I didn’t hear any of that,” the publication quoted the dispatcher as saying when pilots from other helicopters contacted him.
The president previously justified the need for a ballroom with the need for a room for special events that could accommodate a large number of guests. The Republican initially said that construction would cost $200 million, then the cost rose to $600 million. Trump emphasized that the hall would also be a “military facility” with a bunker and a site for drones.
