Trump's Marine One helicopter has trouble communicating with air traffic control for second time this month

Updated on: August 28, 2026 / 7:46 PM EDT / CBS News

Trump's Marine One helicopter has trouble communicating with air traffic control for second time this month

TL;DR

  • Marine One experienced communication issues with air traffic controllers on Thursday.
  • This is the second such incident to occur this month.
  • A similar incident in early August involved Marine One flying within a mile of a commercial jet.
  • The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found previous radio transmissions from Marine One were not received or were unreadable.
  • FAA technicians identified interference due to infrastructure and inadequate line-of-sight from the take-off location.
  • Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had previously stated the communication issue was resolved.
  • The FAA confirmed contact was eventually established with Marine One on Thursday but did not address the radio issues directly.