Safety Notice: 2019-1

GPS air navigation unreliable or unavailable during military GPS jamming interference

The Issue:

GPS may be unreliable or unavailable in vast swaths of airspace during military activity involving GPS jamming. The FAA posts flight advisories providing schedules of the interference activity, which can affect GPS and ADS-B service. Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) are also issued to alert pilots to the tests. Such testing is occurring between February 6 and 10 off the coast of Georgia. It could degrade GPS from the Caribbean and Florida north to Pennsylvania, and as far west as eastern Louisiana (see the FAA’s Flight Advisory). The disruption in signals could impact navigation, surveillance, autopilot, and flight control systems that use GPS.

What You Should Do:

Take special care to review ARTCC NOTAMs and look for FAA’s flight advisories. If you encounter hazardous interruption of GPS signals or flight control issues that result in an emergency, you should transmit the term “Stop Buzzer” to air traffic control.

Additionally, during this period when flying over an affected area, you are encouraged to prepare back up navigation and approach sources to use if necessary.

If you encounter any GPS anomalies, document the incident and report it using the FAA’s GPS Anomaly Reporting Form.

What You Should Know:

Read AOPA’s article on the February 6 to 10 testing for more background on this issue.

To increase safety awareness and help reduce accidents, the AOPA Air Safety Institute periodically issues Safety Notices to remind pilots of significant safety topics.