Connor Stringer
Washington: An air ambulance crash that killed all on board may have been linked to the US military’s testing of an experimental jamming weapon.
Four people died in the crash on May 14, which caused a wildfire that burned for weeks in the Capitan Mountains around Ruidoso, New Mexico.
A preliminary report said the aircraft, a small twin-engine plane used for medical evacuations, had lost the ability to navigate using GPS moments before it crashed into the ground.
Other aircraft had reported the same issue, and air traffic controllers deemed the problem significant enough to ask the military to halt the GPS-jamming exercise at the nearby White Sands Missile Range.
Disoriented, the two pilots flew into the side of a mountain they probably never saw, killing themselves and two nurses.
The National Transportation Safety Board said after the plane’s pilots reported having problems, the air traffic controller told them to line up for a visual approach, relying on landmarks rather than the plane’s instruments – called a “heading” approach.
“The pilot responded that they were correcting their altitude and that the aeroplane had lost GPS capability. The pilot stated they would need a heading,” the report said.
The crew was then cleared for a visual approach, and the controller told the military it could resume the jamming.
As the aircraft made its descent, it crashed into a mountainous area about 22 kilometres north-east of the airport.
The preliminary report did not conclude that the jamming caused the crash, but noted that GPS jamming was occurring at the time.
A full report, which is expected to establish exactly what caused the aircraft to fly into the side of the mountain, is due next year.
According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, reported GPS interference incidents in continental US airspace increased from four in 2020 to 50 in 2024.
The Telegraph, London
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