“The air traffic controller was in contact with both the commercial pilot and Marine One pilot during the loss of separation,” the FAA said. The air traffic controller didn't acknowledge that transmission and after the pilot tried again, the controller said the message was broken and unreadable. After the controller warned the helicopter about the plane taking off, the Marine One pilot said he saw the traffic and declared, “We'll be doing a momentary delay.” Last year's midair collision highlighted communication problemsPoor communication between the military and the civilian air traffic controllers at Reagan has been an issue in the past. The rules also require air traffic controllers to use radar — and not rely on pilots' eyes — to maintain separation and require all military aircraft to broadcast their locations.