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AVIATION NEWS

An Accident in New Mexico…

A Beechcraft King Air 90 aircraft carrying two pilots and two nurses were dispatched from Roswell to Ruidoso, New Mexico, in order to pick up a patient for transport on the late evening of May 13 earlier this year. They never made it, crashing in the wee hours of the 14th in the nearby Capitan Mountains, causing the Seven Cabins Fire that took over a month to be contained, after burning over 31,000 acres. All four aboard were killed. The night was dark, but visibility was good. The pilots had been using GPS to guide them to the Sierra Blanco Regional Airport.

United States military facilities are protected by devices that jam GPS signals from being used to attack them. Ruidoso is near the White Sands Missile Range, and GPS jamming was active at the time of the crash. The pilots were aware that GPS jamming was being conducted in the vicinity of their flight.

NTSB has not assigned probable cause, but did release the circumstances in a preliminary report, stating:
GPS jamming originated from the WSMR’s routine NAVFEST exercises, coordinated with the FA and published via NOTAMs
ADS-BV surveillance degraded alongside GPS
ATC paused jamming temporarily; the crew reported Ruidoso in sight and requested a visual approach
Jamming resumed during descent; the aircraft struck terrain approximately 230 feet below the summit

Sources: https://www.firehouse.com/ems/video/55377961/four-killed-in-medical-plane-crash-in-ruidoso-nm and https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/civilian-plane-crashed-mexico-military-163855450.html

The New Mexico Accident led to interesting articles by Aviation Week

A podcast entitled, “GPS Spoofing and Jamming – Can Civil Aviation Adapt,” from which this partial summary was taken:

“The podcast begins by talking about a medevac crash that may have involved GPS interference and presents it as part of a wider problem facing civil aviation. GPS has become a critical utility for navigation and aircraft systems, yet commercial aviation remains less protected against jamming and spoofing than military aviation. Jamming overwhelms GPS signals, while spoofing supplies false information that can mislead an aircraft about its position. These disruptions can affect navigation, flight management systems, autopilot behavior, ground proximity warnings, and other aircraft functions.

The discussion considers how crews respond in areas where interference is more likely. Pilots may cross-check GPS with inertial navigation, ground-based navigation aids, radar guidance from air traffic control, and procedures practiced in simulators. However, these measures do not resolve the underlying technological gap. Military systems use more resilient antennas and multiple signals, while civil aircraft often depend heavily on a single GPS frequency.”

Two related Aviation Week podcasts are pertinent here:

Opinion: Weapons Developments Reflect And Enable New Geopolitical Reality and https://aviationweek.com/defense/budget-policy-operations/what-can-irans-drone-missile-war-teach-taiwan.

Jet Fuel Shortages Loom

“Airline industry officials are warning of potential disruptions to flight schedules this summer as jet fuel supply concerns and rising costs continue to develop amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said shortages could first affect parts of Asia before spreading to other regions, while European carriers are also assessing the financial impact of sustained higher fuel prices.

“European carriers are also assessing the financial impact of higher fuel prices, as several airlines reduce capacity or adjust schedules in response to rising operating costs.”

See here for the full story.

For additional info from Europe, see: https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airports-networks/high-fuel-costs-disrupt-winter-2026-network-plans.

And if fuel woes weren’t enough, climate change will certainly affect the commercial airline business; see: https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/airports-networks/aviation-industry-warned-climate-pressures-will-reshape-travel.

A Warning from Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russian airspace is becoming “completely unsafe” and is “effectively closing” because of drone strikes, as Ukraine’s response to increasing Russian attacks extends beyond Ukrainian territory.

In a Sept. 1 statement, Zelenskyy said, “Today, we want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, and everyone who still uses Russia’s key airports: Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe.”

Although Zelenskyy said Ukraine was not threatening civilian aviation as such, he stated, “There will simply be drones in Russia’s skies on a scale that has to be taken into account.”

AVIATION FYI

Aviation Week Article: FedEx Urges Government Help to Grow SAF Supply

Jet Fuel will continue to be in short supply, and at higher cost. One possible help is the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). FedEx already uses SAF now at five major airports (ORD, MIA, LAX, DFW, and JFK), starting a year ago. Millions of gallons of SAF are involved, with a large saving in petroleum products. For more information on this encouraging development, see: https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/aircraft-propulsion/fedex-urges-government-help-grow-saf-supply.

Aviation Week Podcast: Airbus and Boeing CEO’s See the Future Differently

Evolutionary versus disruptive changes in technology, demand for new aircraft versus fleet optimization, advances in propulsion technology, and other issues make for an interesting discussion/comparison. See for yourself at: https://aviationweek.com/podcasts/check-6/podcast-why-airbus-boeings-ceos-see-future-differently.

Results of UPS Crash in November 2025

“Boeing’s flawed analysis of a 2002 in-service incident masked the significance of nine subsequent occurrences before a 10th led to the fatal crash of UPS Airlines Flight 2976 in November 2025, details released during an NTSB hearing as part of the safety agency’s probe reveal. The troubling chain of events raises concerns about foundational industry processes meant to improve in-service fleet safety through hazard identification and risk analysis.

Testimony and documents made public during the 1.5-day hearing held May 19-20 in Washington show the accident was caused by fatigue cracking that originated in a lubrication channel inside a part within the MD-11’s No. 1 (left) engine pylon. The channel runs along the inside circumference of a collar, or race, that forms part of a steel spherical bearing. The bearing rests within two lug holes, or bores, and houses a bolt that attaches the lugs to a wing clevis, providing one of the two engine attachment points on each wing.

“Boeing understood from previous incidents that the race was susceptible to cracking. Several incidents also demonstrated that race damage could affect load distribution across the lugs, causing cracks or deformation.

“But Boeing’s analysis concluded that if one lug failed, the second would hold, keeping the engine and pylon attached to the wing. As Flight 2976 proved, Boeing was wrong.

“The MD-11’s left engine and pylon tore away from its wing right after rotation, when tension on the cracked lug was highest. Fatigue cracks in the lug bores gave way and both lugs fractured. The engine—its pylon still attached—pivoted forward and up, broke away from the wing, and passed over the MD-11’s rear fuselage.

“The stricken widebody lifted off but could not maintain altitude. It went down 4,200 ft. from the end of Louisville International Airport’s Runway 17 Right, in an industrial area. Its maximum recorded radio altitude during the 22-sec. flight was 29 ft. All three UPS pilots onboard and 12 people on the ground were killed.

Source: https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/safety-ops-regulation/ups-accident-probe-finds-trail-missed-clues

AVIATION LINKS AND OTHER INFORMATION

Let’s Recover a WWII TBD-1 Torpedo Bomber! The TBD-1 Devastator was the U.S.

Navy’s first all-metal, low-wing, carrier-based torpedo bomber. The Devastator went into service in 1937, but it was completely outdated by the time of Pearl Harbor. In spite of its flaws, it was used during the opening months of the Pacific campaign, including operations in the Marshall Islands and major carrier battles in 1942. It had to fly low, slow, and straight to launch its torpedo. Only 129 were ever built. The Devastators they were soon replaced by a more capable aircraft, the TBM Avenger, the aircraft flown by George H.W. Bush later in the War. But not before the ill-fated Torpedo Squadron 8 was annihilated at Midway in June, 1942.

American naval forces were reeling after Pearl Harbor, but the aircraft carriers weren’t in port that day, and were able to conduct raids on Japanese holdings in the mid-Pacific. On February 1, 1942, the carriers Yorktown and Enterprise struck targets in the Marshall Islands. Seventeen SBD Dauntless dive bombers and 12 Devastators (carrying bombs instead of torpedoes since they were after targets on land) from the Yorktown went to Jaluit Atoll. Their attack was thwarted by bad weather, and two of the Devastators became disoriented in the clouds to the point they lacked the fuel necessary for a return to their ship. They elected to ditch in the large Jaluit lagoon. All six crewmen from the two aircraft were captured, and would survive the War and, but only after some very rough treatment there and back in Japan.

The two Jaluit Devastators are still there and one of them is the focus of a new recovery effort, the Devastator Project, made by a “coalition of maritime archaeology, aviation preservation and naval history organizations.” The aircraft selected for recovery was Bureau Number 1515, piloted by “Ensign Herbert R. Hein, Jr., (with) navigator/bombardier Aviation Ordnanceman, Third Class (AOM3c) Joseph D. Strahl, and radioman/gunner Seaman First Class (S1c) Marshal E. “Windy” Windham.” The other, Bureau Number 0298, was manned by “pilot Lt. Harlan T. “Dub” Johnson, navigator Aviation Chief Machinist’s Mate (ACMM) Charles E. Fosha, and radioman/gunner Radioman First Class (RM1c) James W. Dalzell.”

[ASIDE: It’s a good thing the two crews eventually made it back home OK. My boss at my first job in Colorado Springs, a fine gentleman and decent golfer, was the son of Charles E. Fosha.]

The wrecks of several other Devastators are known, but none to date have been recovered and restored enough to be put on display anywhere, making this dud of an airplane a rare and important artifact! I wish the Devastator Project team the best of luck in their endeavor!

For more info, see: https://avweb.com/aviation-news/tbd-1-recovery-effort-world-war-ii-navy and https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbirds-news/us-navy-announces-mission-to-recover-a-douglas-tbd-devastator.html. .

What’s It Like to Fly to Telluride? Telluride, Colorado, located in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, is a spectacular setting, home to celebrities famous, skiers, and festival goers. There are more private jets flying into its small airport, at over 9000’, than just about anywhere. AVWeb just posted a video of what landing there is like, in a propeller-driven plane. See: https://www.avweb.com/multimedia/featured-video-flying-into-telluride-a-stunning-high-stakes-approach.

And if you think that’s wild, try jeeping into Telluride over the (in)famous Black Bear Pass (if you are not too late; it recently was closed due to damage by a rockfall). For example, see: https://www.cntraveler.com/video/watch/the-road-less-traveled-traversing-black-bear-pass.

Oh, and watch out forfalling cars!