&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Secret weapon test blamed for US plane crash that killed four | Gravitas")
A routine medical flight. A sudden loss of navigation. And now, major questions arise over whether a US military GPS-jamming exercise played a role in a deadly air ambulance crash back in May.
A preliminary US government report has put the spotlight on secret electronic warfare testing and its possible impact on civilian aviation.
The US National Transportation Safety Board says a C-90 air ambulance crashed into the Capitan mountains in New Mexico shortly after midnight on May 14.
The aircraft was flying to pick up a patient when it went down, killing two pilots and two flight nurses.
The crash also sparked a wildfire that burned thousands of acres before firefighters contained it.
According to the preliminary report, the pilots contacted air traffic control soon after takeoff and reported that they had lost GPS navigation capability.
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The report says the controller asked military officials at the nearby White Sands Missile Range to temporarily stop GPS-jamming operations so the crew could be guided safely.
Other commercial and private pilots in the area also reported severe GPS interference that night.
The military exercise had allegedly been announced in advance through aviation advisories warning of possible GPS disruptions within a 240-nautical-mile radius of White Sands Missile Range.
Investigators also found major differences between the aircraft’s recorded GPS altitude and its actual flight path.
The report says air traffic control later cleared the crew for a visual approach after the pilot reported losing GPS capability and needing heading guidance.
The military then resumed the jamming exercise.
And just minutes later, allegedly the aircraft crashed into mountainous terrain around 22 kilometres northeast of the airport.
The US National Transportation Safety Board said that this is only a preliminary report and does not identify the final cause of the crash.
Investigators are examining cockpit records radar data, and the possible impact of electronic warfare testing on civilian aviation.