Australia’s Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) has finished its investigation into an April 5 incident involving a false TAWS alert on approach to Gladstone Airport in IMC in a Beechcraft King Air B200.
While on the RNAV Runway10 approach, the pilot received a “Terrain, Terrain, Pull Up” alert and he immediately started a climb to a safe altitude. At that point, the turboprop twin was no longer in IMC and the pilot conducted a visual approach and landing.
According to the ATSB report, the aircraft was safely established on the approach profile when the alert sounded. “The operator had known about nuisance alerts on this approach since it was amended in 2010, when the final track was aligned over high ground near Mt. Larcom. Other operators also experienced nuisance alerts in the same location.”
The ATSB reviewed this incident and other reported false alarms near Gladstone and has learned that the draft of a revised procedure will remove the track over the high terrain. The new approach “should eliminate the nuisance TAWS alerts,” the agency said, making it “very unlikely that further investigation would identify any systemic safety issues.”