Controllers warned Marine One pilots of communications issue days before near-miss with jet, NTSB says

The NTSB says air traffic controllers in Washington and the pilots of President Donald Trump’s helicopter met to discuss communications issues one week before an Aug. 4 near-miss at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. According to the agency’s preliminary report, both sides identified failures in communications and agreed on an alternative procedure—yet that method also did not work on the day of the incident. The report notes that having the aircraft take off at the same time appeared to violate safety procedures put in place after last year’s deadly midair collision near the airport, though officials stressed the president was never in danger. The FAA had previously required a three-minute warning before Marine One takeoff, a protocol described as potentially unreadable on tower audio.