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NTSB Preliminary Report Links GPS Jamming to Fatal Beech C90 Air Ambulance Crash
The NTSB's initial findings show GPS interference disrupted navigation before a deadly May flight in New Mexico, with the Beech C90 air ambulance impacting terrain while diverting visually.
The gist
GPS jamming impaired navigation in May’s deadly Beech C90 air ambulance crash near Ruidoso, NM, per NTSB preliminary report.
An air ambulance Beechcraft King Air C90 operated by Generations Jets crashed near Lincoln, New Mexico, on May 14 during a Part 135 medical transport flight, resulting in the deaths of both pilots and two flight nurses. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a preliminary report revealing that GPS interference was active during the accident flight, complicating the aircraft’s navigational capabilities. The flight, which originated from Roswell airport around 11:52 p.m. and was bound for Ruidoso, encountered significant GPS outages that played a critical role in the events leading to the crash.
Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew requested an IFR clearance to Sierra Blanca, near the Ruidoso area. At around midnight, air traffic controllers observed the aircraft deviating 1,000 feet above its assigned altitude of 12,000 feet, with the pilot reporting a loss of GPS functionality and requesting heading vectors. Controllers provided manual headings to guide the flight, which had initially planned an RNAV approach to Runway 24 but shifted to an ILS approach after the crew reported GPS failures.
Investigations revealed that the GPS interference was part of a military jamming operation occurring in the vicinity during the timeframe of the flight. Multiple other aircraft also reported GPS outages or difficulties encountering navigation aids within the same airspace segment. This widespread disruption prompted an air traffic controller to request cessation of the jamming from military operations to alleviate navigation problems for affected aircraft.
Flight tracking data from different sources including Spidertracks and ADS-B were analyzed. The NTSB noted discrepancies between the two systems, with GPS altitudes from Spidertracks consistently showing about 600 feet higher than ADS-B readings, and gaps appearing in ADS-B positional reporting. These data irregularities complicated the reconstruction of the aircraft’s exact flight path in the moments leading to the accident.
Around 12:08 a.m., the aircrew reported visual contact with Ruidoso and indicated their intention to proceed with a visual approach and cancel IFR clearance. Albuquerque Center authorized the visual approach clearance to Sierra Blanca. After this radio transmission, no further contact was made with the aircraft. Recorded transponder data shows the airplane descending and executing a turn toward the airport before impacting mountainous terrain at an elevation near 9,950 feet, east of the Capitan Mountains Summit Radio Facility.
Additional factors emerged from preflight briefings, which included NOTAMs indicating that Sierra Blanca’s Automated Weather Observing System was out of service at the time of the flight and alerts about possible GPS, WAAS, GBAS, and ADS-B outages in the area. Moreover, no current METAR or TAF reports were available for the destination airport, and published instrument approach procedures warned against use without updated altimeter settings from local sources.
The terrain around Sierra Blanca poses significant hazards, with the airport elevation at approximately 6,814 feet above sea level and nearby mountains reaching up to 10,201 feet. The crash site location near a peak mirrors concerns about the loss of situational awareness under degraded navigation conditions, especially during nighttime operations on a moonless night. These challenges were compounded by the ongoing GPS jamming that compromised primary navigational aids normally relied upon during flights into mountainous airports.
This accident underscores vulnerabilities in aviation navigation systems exposed by electronic warfare and military operations that can disrupt GPS availability. It also highlights the crucial need for pilots and controllers to be aware of nearby non-aviation activities capable of impacting navigation and for the aviation community to pursue resilient and complementary navigation infrastructures to maintain safety in demanding operational environments.
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