A new report alleges the US military is responsible for a New Mexico civilian plane crash that killed everyone on board after an experimental jammer test disrupted onboard systems.
Wired has published an article detailing that on May 14 2026, officials at the White Sands Missile Base in New Mexico were conducting a test of an experimental GPS jamming device. The publication says that at the same time as the test, a twin-engine medevac plane departed Roswell, New Mexico en route to collect a patient in the small mountain village of Ruidoso.
The pilots were Keelan Clark and Ali Kawsara, who were transporting flight nurses Sarah Clark and Jamie Novick. Shortly after take-off, either Clark or Kawsara reported to air traffic control that their GPS had gone down.
“Their commitment to their patients and their teammates will never be forgotten”
The air traffic controller, aware of the ongoing test, contacted the base to ask them to turn off the device. They did, but only for a few minutes. They turned it back on, and the medevac plane crashed five minutes later. As Wired says:
“Forced to revert to older technology, ones that they rarely if ever use, the medevac pilots got disoriented and crashed into the side of a mountain. There were no survivors. The accident marked the first time that GPS jamming had contributed to the crash of a civilian plane in the United States.”
Wired reports that the day in question had low visibility, that at least three other planes in the area reported that they were affected by GPS issues, and that it appears the pilots hadn’t spotted the mountainous formation they crashed into, which was between their plane and the landing strip.
IEEE Spectrum reports that the White Sands Missile Base is known for testing GPS jammers and spoofers and says its 2021 investigation turned up “reports of near misses in the White Sands region, as well as previously unseen data showing aircraft flying off course, accidentally entering military airspace, being unable to maneuver, and losing their ability to navigate.”
They quote an anonymous air traffic controller who works in the area as saying, “This issue has been going on for years… Someone will get hurt ignoring the pilot reports or deciding for pilots how much equipment can fail or be unreliable before they agree or decide to stop GPS jamming.”
Vice President of Trans Aero MedEvac Matt Goertz told KRDO that the nurses “embodied what it means to care for others. Their commitment to their patients and their teammates will never be forgotten, and their impact will continue to live on within our organization and the communities they served.”
A month later, a B-52 Stratofortress crashed during a test mission at Edwards Air Force Base, killing eight people, with the investigation projected to take several months.
Neither White Sands Missile Base nor any US military representative has commented on the crash. The US National Transportation Board is now investigating, and has already confirmed that military GPS jamming was active during the flight.
Published: Aug 5, 2026 08:13 am