Originally Posted by
Tu.114
So what do we know now?
- A crew got a bit closer to the mountains than intended on a rather demanding, definitely nonstandard approach into a small airfield encircled by the Alps.
- The GPWS worked as advertised, warned them of the threat and was correctly reacted to by applying the procedure the OM-B requires. The aircraft was landed safely at the diversion airfield, which was Milan-Malpensa (about 20 NM south of Lugano).
- This incident has been reported to SUST, be it immediately or a bit later, and is under investigation.
So far, so good. First and most importantly of all, no person was harmed and no metal was bent. The crew managed to get out of the situation. So why was there a need for punishment? If by analogy, one manages to screw up an ILS approach and correctly calls a go around to get out of this situation, this will not be second-guessed in nearly every company and definitely not be grounds for dismissal or other reprimands.
The alleged delay in reporting it to the authorities, if true, needs not be the fault of the crew either. Normally, crews are required to report such incidents (a list of reportable circumstances is published in the OM-A) to the company, where a competent person will read the text and then decide on whether or not this is to be reported to the authority. He, not the crew involved, will then forward the text as needed.
So why the crew was hanged for this is beyond me.
Not saying the crew should be hanged, but............
When gpws warns the crew with a "terrain" or "pull up" warning, it is a last resort safety card. Something seriously has gone wrong before that. The crew is responsible for getting in that situation in the first place. So, investigate why they got there and then decide wether it is a slap on the wrist or worse.
Gpws is a lifesaver, but activation should not be downplayed to a normal occurence if pilots react appropriately. They came very close to crashing.