Overview
- A Trans Aero/Generation Jets Beechcraft King Air on a medevac mission struck the Capitan Mountains on May 14, 2026, killing the two pilots and two flight nurses aboard and igniting the Seven Cabins wildfire.
- The NTSB’s preliminary findings show the crew reported a loss of GPS shortly before the crash and that three other aircraft in the area also reported GPS failures during the same military jamming exercise.
- Air traffic control asked the military to stop jamming to assist affected flights, then told the military it could resume after the medevac crew reported they had the airport in sight; the airplane crashed minutes later.
- The crew switched from a GPS‑dependent RNAV plan to a visual approach on a dark, nearly moonless night with Sierra Blanca’s automated weather system out of service, a sequence investigators say likely led to loss of terrain awareness.
- The crash has prompted congressional requests for a joint NTSB‑Defense Department briefing and renewed calls from pilots and safety groups for clearer NOTAMs, better FAA‑military coordination, and review of GPS‑interference testing practices.