Civilian plane crash in New Mexico tied to military GPS blocking(wired.com)
475 points by dzdt 1 day ago | 250 comments
tl;dr: A medevac Beechcraft King Air crashed into a New Mexico mountain in May after a US military GPS jamming exercise at White Sands Missile Range disoriented the inexperienced crew, marking the first US civilian plane crash linked to electronic warfare. The pilots lost GPS mid-flight, overshot their approach while waiting for busy ATC vectors, then opted for a visual approach and flew into the Capitan Mountains, killing all four aboard. The incident highlights growing collateral risks to civil aviation as GPS jamming and counter-drone measures proliferate globally, with a similar suspected case downing a Pakistani 737 freighter near the Strait of Hormuz in July.
HN Discussion:
  • ~Pilot error and poor decision-making were the primary cause; GPS jamming was only a contributing factor
  • ~Pilots should be trained to navigate without GPS using redundant systems that already exist
  • GPS interference creates real cognitive workload and danger that shouldn't be dismissed
  • The article's presentation (animation) is misleading and misrepresents what actually happened
  • ~Broader competency crisis due to over-reliance on automation is the deeper issue