Federal investigators say a fatal New Mexico air ambulance crash unfolded after the crew lost GPS navigation while the U.S. military was conducting a scheduled jamming exercise â a chain of events that is raising new questions about whether civilian aviation is prepared for an era of electronic warfare.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report found the Beech King Air crew reported losing GPS capability minutes after departing Roswell, New Mexico, May 14 as the military conducted a planned GPS-denial exercise. Air traffic controllers twice asked officials to halt the jamming while assisting the flight, though investigators have not determined whether the interference caused or contributed to the crash.
The crew took off from Roswell, New Mexico, shortly before midnight on an air ambulance flight to Ruidoso, New Mexico, according to the preliminary report. Before the flight, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had issued a notice to airmen warning that a scheduled military GPS jamming exercise could disrupt satellite navigation across a radius of hundreds of miles around White Sands Missile Range.
Minutes after departure, the pilots reported losing GPS capability and requested assistance from air traffic controllers, who twice asked the military to suspend the jamming exercise. Three other aircraft in the area also reported GPS outages.
The crew later reported the airport in sight and requested a visual approach. After the military resumed the exercise, the aircraft descended toward the runway but struck the Capitan Mountains, killing both pilots and two flight nurses. The National Transportation Safety Board has not determined whether the GPS interference contributed to the crash.
The crash comes as aviation authorities worldwide warn that GPS interference is becoming a growing operational hazard. The FAA now advises pilots to be prepared to fly without GPS because intentional jamming is “of greater and growing concern,” while the U.N.’s aviation agency has warned that interference can affect aircraft far beyond conflict zones.
In its 2026 guidance, the agency said the hazards associated with GPS jamming and spoofing have “rapidly spread” in recent years and cited industry data showing reports of GPS loss increased 65% in the first half of 2024 compared with the previous year. The agency warned that interference can cause pilots to deviate from assigned flight paths, misreport their position, lose situational awareness and struggle to transition safely to backup navigation.
Todd Humphreys, director of the University of Texas’ Radionavigation Laboratory, said the crash also raises questions about whether the navigation technology used in many civilian aircraft has kept pace with evolving GPS jamming threats.
Humphreys said many FAA-certified cockpit GPS receivers rely on older technology that is more susceptible to jamming than newer commercially available systems.
“The iPhone that the pilot carried was almost certainly a better GPS receiver inside than the FAA-certified receiver providing navigation guidance to the aircraft,” Humphreys told Fox News Digital.
Unlike illegal consumer GPS jammers, military electronic warfare systems are designed to deny satellite navigation across large operational areas so troops can train in conditions resembling combat. In the New Mexico exercise, the FAA warned GPS disruptions could extend hundreds of miles from White Sands Missile Range.
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Humphreys argued that while newer GPS technology has become more resilient to interference, aviation certifi
