Fatal air ambulance crash exposes growing GPS danger facing US flights

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 — 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 certification has moved too slowly to keep pace with the evolving threat from jamming and spoofing.

Humphreys' concerns echo warnings from international aviation regulators. In March 2025, the International Civil Aviation Organization, along with the International Telecommunication Union and International Maritime Organization, warned of increasing GPS jamming and spoofing incidents that can affect aircraft "far beyond the immediate affected area," creating safety risks across multiple flight regions.

Paul Deres, vice president of operations at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute, said the focus should remain on pilot preparation and proficiency, noting that today's general aviation fleet includes a wide range of older and newer avionics designed to improve situational awareness.

"Technology can always fail, and it does," Deres said.

European regulators have repeatedly updated guidance for pilots and air traffic controllers in response to growing GPS interference, most recently in July after analyzing additional jamming and spoofing incidents.

The FAA declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, but said it issues notices alerting pilots to planned GPS disruptions and maintains backup navigation systems to help aircraft navigate during satellite outages.

Asked about Humphreys' criticism that FAA-certified GPS receivers have not kept pace with newer technology, the agency did not directly address the claim.

GPS interference has become a growing challenge for commercial aviation in parts of Europe and the Middle East, where airlines routinely encounter jamming and spoofing linked to regional conflicts.

"There are some in the community who believe that we have passed the point of peak safety in aviation, maybe four years ago," Humphreys said, pointing to the rise of GPS jamming, spoofing and other forms of hybrid warfare that can disrupt aircraft navigation.

But it remains relatively uncommon in U.S. airspace outside of military testing.

In March 2025, multiple commercial airliners approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport near the nation's capital received false collision alerts that forced several crews to perform go-arounds. Congressional testimony later revealed the alerts were triggered by Secret Service and U.S. Navy counter-drone testing.

Regardless of whether investigators ultimately link the GPS outage to the crash, the report documents how quickly a routine medical flight became a complex navigation emergency after the crew reported losing satellite guidance. The National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report describes a chain of events in which the crew lost GPS shortly after departure, requested assistance from air traffic control, and later opted to continue visually toward the airport before striking terrain.

As drones become more prevalent, GPS jamming as a form of counter-drone operations only will become more common.

"Nation states have woken up to the fact that this is one of the ways they can protect themselves from drones," he said. "We've got to move more quickly on the aviation side to build better systems, better receivers, better antennas to deal with this so that flights can be safer again."

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Humphreys said the United States has so far avoided the level of disruption seen in Europe, but argued regulators need to modernize aviation technology before GPS interference becomes a more routine operational challenge.

"The FAA, I think they've just got to move faster. They've got to wake up and recognize that sticking to their old rules about you know, certification that takes years and millions and millions of dollars to get through is not at the service of safety anymore, because the environment has changed. "