White House construction played part in Trump helicopter incident, safety officials say

A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report says the relocation of a helipad during Donald Trump’s multi-project White House reconstruction contributed to an earlier August incident in which Marine One, carrying the president, came too close to a passenger jet. The NTSB cited “communication issues” when Marine One’s crew failed to provide the required three minutes’ notice to air traffic controllers. As a result, flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were not halted, leading to a “loss of separation” with an Embraer E170 operated by an American Airlines subsidiary. The report also notes the crew tried to contact controllers but couldn’t, and subsequent FAA changes reportedly resolved the communications.