The National Transportation Safety Board is examining whether military GPS jamming played a role in the fatal Beechcraft King Air medevac crash near Ruidoso, New Mexico, that killed four people on 14 May. Preliminary findings indicate the aircraft lost satellite navigation during a night approach close to White Sands Missile Range, where U.S. military electronic warfare activity was taking place, but investigators have not reached a probable cause.
The crash has drawn attention to the risks facing civilian aircraft operating near active jamming areas, especially in mountainous terrain where crews may need to rely on backup navigation procedures. Air traffic controllers later asked the military to suspend the jamming before allowing it to resume, while other aircraft in the area also reported GPS loss that night.
The aircraft was operating as a medevac flight when it went down in the Capitan Mountains. The latest reporting indicates the NTSB continues to review the sequence of events and has not identified final contributing factors. That leaves open whether the jamming was a direct cause or one element in a broader chain of operational and environmental conditions.