NTSB: Military GPS Jamming Active During Fatal King Air Medevac Crash

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board confirms that scheduled U.S. military GPS jamming from White Sands Missile Range was active during the flight of a Beechcraft King Air C90 that crashed near Ruidoso, N.M., on May 14, 2026. The aircraft, registration N249CP, was operated by Generation Jets under contract with Trans Aero MedEvac and was conducting a positioning flight to pick up a patient bound for Albuquerque.

The flight crew had been briefed on the scheduled jamming prior to departure from Roswell Air Center. Approximately six minutes after takeoff, the crew reported a GPS outage to Albuquerque Center. Air traffic control coordinated a temporary halt to the jamming activity, but the military resumed the exercise shortly before the aircraft struck the Capitan Mountains at approximately 12:15 a.m. local time. All four occupants — two pilots and two flight nurses — were fatally injured.

Investigators also noted that the automated weather observation system at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport was out of service at the time of the accident, leaving the crew without current local weather data. Although the crew reported the airport in sight and had been cleared for a visual approach, tracking data indicates the aircraft was positioned on the mountain side of the approach path — consistent with controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). The NTSB has not assigned a probable cause; the preliminary report is factual in nature. A final determination is expected within 12 to 24 months.