NTSB releases preliminary findings about Trans Aero MedEvac crash

The fatal crash of a Beechcraft C90 operated by Trans Aero MedEvac may have been connected to GPS jamming activities being conducted by the US military, according to preliminary report findings by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The incident, which occurred near Lincoln, New Mexico, in the early hours of 14 May, led to the death of all four crewmembers on board.

The aircraft, which was based at the Roswell Air Center in Roswell, New Mexico, had been dispatched to Sierra Blanca Regional Airport, to transport a patient from there to the city of Albuquerque.

The night of the mission was dark, with 0% lunar illumination, hindering visual operation.

Additionally, the US military had been carrying out GPS jamming activities in the area around where the incident occurred, which may have affected the aircraft’s Spidertracks flight tracking equipment. The equipment reported GPS-generated altitude, heading, airspeed, and position throughout the duration of the flight.

ADS-B data also captured portions of the flight. The NTSB reported that all data from both sources was consistent with each other, except for the recorded Spidertracks GPS altitude, which was consistently around 600ft higher than the ADS-B altitudes, and there were large gaps in recorded ADS-B data.