2024年5月13日至14日午夜，一架双发比奇飞王客机在新墨西哥州罗斯韦尔至鲁伊多索之间坠毁，机上四人全部遇难。[1]该医疗直升机机长为30岁的基兰·克拉克，副驾驶为23岁的阿里·考沙拉，另有两名护士随行。[1]事故原因与美军进行的军事演习直接相关，标志着美国首次因电子战导致民航飞机坠毁的事故。[1]
美军746测试中队在怀特桑兹导弹靶场进行的名为NAVFEST的演习期间实施了GPS干扰，导致客机失去导航能力。[1]美国联邦航空局曾就此发布警告，表明GPS可能受影响的范围达400英里，干扰时间为5月12日至18日。[1]
德州大学航空工程教授托德·汉弗莱斯表示，"全球GPS干扰和欺骗水平的增加对商业航空安全构成风险已毫无疑问。"[1]美军过去一年内至少发布了10次GPS干扰演习通知。[1]随着无人机战争和电子战的扩展，GPS干扰已成为全球民航面临的日益严重的威胁。[1]
A medical helicopter crashed in New Mexico in May 2024 after losing navigational capability during a U.S. military GPS jamming exercise, resulting in the deaths of all four people on board.[1] The incident occurred between midnight on May 13 and 14 near Roswell and Ruidoso, New Mexico, when a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air carrying pilot Kieran Clark, 30, copilot Ali Koushal, 23, and two nurses struck a mountain.[1] The aircraft's navigation systems were disabled during NAVFEST exercises conducted by the U.S. Air Force's 746th Test Squadron at White Sands Missile Range.[1] This marks the first confirmed U.S. aviation fatality directly attributed to military-induced electronic warfare affecting civilian aircraft.[1]
The Federal Aviation Administration had issued warnings that GPS signals could be affected across an area spanning 400 miles between May 12 and 18.[1] The military had released at least ten GPS jamming exercise notices over the preceding year.[1] Aviation podcast host Juan Browne described the nighttime flying conditions as "a black hole out there," highlighting the particular hazards pilots faced without reliable navigation systems.[1] Experts have raised alarm about the expanding risks such interference poses to commercial aviation. Todd Humphreys, an aerospace engineering professor at the University of Texas, stated that "there is no question that increased levels of GPS jamming and spoofing around the world pose a safety risk for commercial aviation."[1] As military drone operations and electronic warfare capabilities continue to expand globally, GPS disruption has become an increasingly serious threat to civilian air safety.[1]