2010-01 · NASA ASRS report 871276
A DA20 flight crew received a GPWS TERRAIN warning when they descended based on a clearance intended for another aircraft.
The conditions were: IFR with turbulence; rain and icing. The report at TEB was for + or - 20 KTS on final with moderate turbulence from 2000 FT to the surface. We had diverted from HPN because it was closed due to a report of severe turbulence there. The frequency was congested; with a lot of pilots asking for condition reports and weather information. We were being vectored to the ILS 19 at TEB; going direct to UNVIL (a fix on the approach) at 3000 FT; when I heard 'Descend to 2000 FT' So I set the altitude alerter to 2000 and started descending. Just after we leveled off at 2000 FT; we had a momentary ground proximity warning with a single 'Terrain' call. I immediately brought the power up and started a climb. I then paused because it went away; and thought it was in error. Then ATC told us to climb back up to 3000 FT. We did. The rest of the approach and landing was normal. We were not asked to make a phone call after landing. I believe the root cause of the event was my being distracted by the continuous moderate turbulence; and mistakenly accepted a clearance given to the aircraft ahead of us. I was anticipating the 2000 FT clearance; and thought it was for us. If I had more closely listened to the ATC instructions; we would not have descended; and the incident would not have happened. I should have asked for clarification. I will in the future.
When we inquired about how long the hold might be the Controller told us it was indefinite. We decided that TEB might be a better choice and the owner agreed. After talking with the company; we asked ATC to divert to TEB. We were only a few miles from TEB; but ATC gave us a route that was around 65 miles to get to TEB. The weather was turning nasty and we had mostly moderate chop and icing along the route.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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