On February 19, 1985, Iberia Airlines Flight 610 conducted a flight from Madrid-

On February 19, 1985, Iberia Airlines Flight 610 conducted a flight from Madrid-Barajas Airport to Bilbao Airport in Spain. The take-off and en route portions of the flight were uneventful. However, the same cannot be said for the approach and landing phases. Air traffic control cleared Flight 610 to commence an ILS approach to runway 30 and proceed to the final approach fix. The captain advised he wanted to fly the entire approach as published; he was cleared to do so. As the aircraft was making its descent, the aircraft’s Ground Proximity Warning System activated. Shortly thereafter, the plane collided with a radio antenna, ripping the left wing off and killing all 148 passengers on board. The cockpit voice recorder was examined, and the captain could be heard shouting “shut up” at the Ground Proximity Warning System as the system gave several warnings to “pull up” (Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Commission, 1986).
In contrast, on July 24, 2004, a Qantas Boeing 737 conducted a flight from Perth to the capital city of Canberra. The aircraft entered a holding pattern as it neared Canberra Airport at the CCK VOR. The published holding instructions were to either hold with one-minute legs or 14 nautical miles from the Canberra Airport, whichever was reached first, at 170 knots. The first officer entered this information into the Flight Management System but inadvertently entered into the Flight Management System to hold with 14-mile legs off of the CCK VOR, not the airport. As a result, the holding pattern put them in a collision course with rising terrain. The captain felt something was not right and turned on the terrain display on his Primary Flight Display. He immediately recognized they were on a collision course and promptly turned back inbound toward the CCK VOR. During the turn, the terrain alert from the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System activated. The flight later landed uneventfully (Scott, 2005).
Obviously, the difference between these two events is one crew acted promptly and took corrective measures, even before the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System was activated. The other crew dismissed the warning, killing all on board. Unless it is severe clear and the crew is 100% confident that it is an erroneous warning, we must act promptly and judiciously to any Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System cautions and warnings given. The lives of our crew and passengers depend on it.
References
Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Commission. (1986). Iberia Airlines Flight 610 Accident Investigation. https://www.mitma.gob.es/recursos_mfom/pdf/FCDC0DE3-4C05-43AE-AEF2-703A6AA6FDD1/13043/1985_009_A_ENG.pdf
Scott, S. (2005, June 20). Ground Proximity Warning System Saved Qantas from Flight into Terrain. Defense Daily. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from https://www.defensedaily.com/ground-proximity-warning-system-saved-qantas-from-flight-into-terrain/uncategorized/