Military GPS Jamming Exercise Linked to Fatal New Mexico Medevac Crash
A medevac flight in New Mexico lost GPS signal due to nearby U.S. military jamming exercises, increasing pilot workload and contributing to a crash that killed all aboard. The interference did not directly cause the accident but added stress that led to a missed critical detail.
The medevac aircraft departed Roswell Air Center shortly before midnight on a dark night with no visible moon, receiving instrument flight rules clearance soon after takeoff. Around midnight, controllers flagged an altitude deviation, and the crew reported losing GPS capability, requesting heading instructions.
Air traffic controllers asked military personnel to halt the jamming exercise, and GPS data recording resumed at 12:07 am. The pilots then announced visual contact with the town of Ruidoso and transitioned to visual flight rules, but the plane crashed into a mountain while on final approach.
This incident could heighten scrutiny of military electronic warfare exercises near civilian airspace. Civilian pilots may face increased cognitive strain when GPS signals vanish, potentially leading to missed critical cues during night operations. Rural communities relying on medevac services could see heightened risks, prompting regulators to consider stricter coordination protocols between military jamming drills and civilian flight paths.