A medical evacuation plane that crashed in New Mexico in May, killing all four people aboard, lost GPS navigation while U.S. military forces were conducting a GPS jamming exercise, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Trans Aero MedEvac Beechcraft King Air 90 departed Roswell Air Center before dawn on May 14 to pick up a patient in Ruidoso. About six minutes after takeoff, the crew reported losing GPS capability and requested navigation assistance from air traffic controllers. Three other aircraft also reported GPS problems during the same period.
“GPS jamming activities that encompassed the area around the accident flight were being conducted by the United States military during the time of the flight,” the NTSB report stated, noting the interference came from routine NAVFEST exercises at White Sands Missile Range. Controllers asked the military to temporarily suspend the jamming after multiple aircraft reported interference.
The crew was later cleared for a visual approach after reporting the airport in sight. The military then resumed jamming. The aircraft descended, turned toward the Capitan Mountains and struck terrain about 230 feet below the mountain summit, killing the two pilots and two medical crew members.
The NTSB said pilots had been warned through Notices to Air Missions that military GPS jamming was scheduled and could affect the area and altitudes of the flight. The board has not yet determined the probable cause of the crash and said a final report is expected next year. The incident is believed to be the first known U.S. civilian aircraft accident in which military GPS jamming has been identified as a potential factor.
