RUIDOSO — A Trans Aero MedEvac medical plane crashed in the Capitan Mountains near Ruidoso, New Mexico, on May 14, killing four people. Federal investigators stated the GPS system on the plane malfunctioned because the military was jamming the signal throughout the area at the time of the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report on the crash on Wednesday, describing the GPS problems encountered by the pilots. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had previously published a Notice to Airmen warning pilots that the military would be jamming GPS signals in the area, and pilots had been warned ahead of time to expect GPS jamming.

An air traffic controller gave the pilots headings to follow into the airport to line up for an approach using the airport's instrument landing system after GPS problems began. The air traffic controller also contacted the military and secured a shutdown of the jammers at one point. Shortly before the crash, the pilots told controllers they had the airport in sight and planned to land visually. Controllers then gave the military permission to resume jamming after the pilots stated they had the airport in sight.

The NTSB stated the airplane descended to 9,400 feet (2,865 meters) as it approached the airport before climbing several hundred feet. The plane struck a mountainside at 9,950 feet (3,000 meters). The point of impact was about 230 feet (70 meters) below the Capitan Mountains Summit Radio Facility. Three other planes in the area reported GPS problems around the same time.

The crash started a wildfire that burned for weeks, covering 48.4 square miles (125.4 square kilometers) or 49.8 square miles (128.9 square kilometers), according to different sources. Officials stated the wildfire was 100% contained on June 12. The plane, operated by Trans Aero MedEvac, was en route from Roswell Air Center to Sierra Blanca Regional Airport when it crashed. The victims were identified as pilots Keelan Clark and Ali Kawsara with Generation Jets, and flight nurses Jamie Novick and Sarah Clark with Trans Aero MedEvac.

John Cox, CEO of Safety Operating Systems, stated, "The loss of GPS should not result in the loss of an airplane, so there's got to be more to it than that." He also asked, "If you can see the runway, you can see the mountain. Why would you fly into it?" Aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said, "GPS can bring you in precisely with a margin of safety that's required and bring you down for landing. But if you don't have GPS, you can't make that approach within those margins and you may drift outside using conventional navigation." Investigators will not identify the cause of the crash until the final NTSB report is completed next year.