Civilian plane flew into mountain and everyone died because US military was testing GPS jammers

In May, a civilian plane in the US state of New Mexico crashed into a mountain, killing everyone onboard. Now, a report claims that this crash happened because the US military was testing new GPS jammers.

In Short

• The King Air left Roswell near midnight to collect a patient
• Pilots lost GPS eight minutes later and sought headings from controllers
• Other aircraft also reported disruptions, leaving air traffic control overstretched

A plane may crash for numerous reasons. Engine failure, technical problems, bad weather, or human error. But what happened to a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 90 aircraft in May this year was different. The plane crashed into a mountain in New Mexico, killing everyone onboard. Now, a report says that the reason for this crash was the US military.

As per Wired, the US military was testing new GPS jammers at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on May 13, the same day as the plane crash.

Plane crashes during US military exercise

According to the report, the plane took off from Roswell just before midnight to pick up a patient. The aircraft was carrying captain Keelan Clark, 30, first officer Ali Kawsara, 23, and two nurses. The flight, which normally takes about 30 minutes, ran into trouble soon after take-off when the crew lost GPS during the military exercise.

Medevac or medical evacuation flights are considered among the riskiest in civil aviation because they are often arranged at short notice and can involve unfamiliar airstrips. While the conditions were clear, the rural terrain and lack of moonlight gave the crew little visual reference, making things more difficult.

Eight minutes after take-off, at midnight on May 14, the pilots told Albuquerque Center that they had lost GPS. They asked for headings from air traffic control, which first directed them west and then north.

The crew initially wanted to fly an RNAV approach, which depends on GPS, and then requested an Instrument Landing System approach instead. At 12:05 am, the controller told them vectors would be provided "in a couple of minutes.”

But other aircraft were also reporting GPS problems that night, and the controller was handling multiple disruptions at once. By 12:08 am, the King Air had overshot the landing pattern by 10 miles.

At that stage, the pilots asked to "go visual,” and the request was approved. A visual landing is one where pilots primarily fly based on what they see, without relying on instrument-guided course and glidepath signals. In front of them, stood 10,000-feet high Capitan Mountains.

Ultimately, the pilots became disoriented as they tried to continue visually on a dark, nearly moonless night, and flew into the side of a mountain, killing all four onboard. Do note that the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a statement following the report. The NTSB says that it "has not yet determined the probable cause or any contributing factors to the accident.”

How did GPS jammers lead to the crash?

You see, the US military was reportedly testing new GPS jammers. Such jammers are used in electronic warfare when you want to disable navigation systems of enemy aircraft. That is, anyone within range of such a jammer is unlikely to be able to use GPS.

The US Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) had warned that GPS could be affected up to 400 miles away between May 12 and May 18 for this specific test in New Mexico. This meant that the King Air 90 aircraft, among other flights, could not use GPS for navigation. Though the area is one of the least densely populated regions in the US, which is why it was chosen for the exercise, leading to fewer flights being impacted.

The report adds that the US military appeared to have issued notices for at least 10 such exercises in the past year, while other recent incidents in Washington and West Texas also disrupted flights.

As per the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association in the US, the number of GPS interference events has risen from 4 in 2020 to 40 in 2025. The US is not the only country where such interference has impacted flights though.

In July this year, a Pakistani cargo flight from K2 Airways crashed into the ocean just south of the Strait of Hormuz, an area that had been experiencing severe GPS jamming due to the US-Iran conflict.

- Ends