Global 5000 first officer accepts a clearance to descend to 2;800 ft during approach to vapo. This t...

Attributes
ACN	1038874
Time
Date	201209
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	VABF.ARTCC
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Global 5000 (Bombardier)
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Route In Use	Vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 70 Flight Crew Total 17610 Flight Crew Type 480
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude Deviation - Procedural Clearance Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT
Miss Distance	Vertical 500

Narrative:

While being vectored for a VOR approach at pune; india we were on a right downwind for runway 28 and on an assigned heading of 103 degrees. We were given a descent to which I understood to be 2;800 ft and read back 2;800 ft. When reaching 2;800 ft we got an egpws warning 'to low gear.' when initially hearing 2;800 ft; I thought it was low because on the DME arc it states 3;800 ft. The pilot flying and our third pilot in the jump seat heard me read back 2;800 ft and didn't question my response. Shortly after receiving the egpws warning approach control told us we were at 2;700 ft and that we were cleared to 3;800 ft and to climb back up to 3;800 ft. I mentioned to approach I had understood and read back 2;800 ft and we were climbing to 3;800 ft. This all happened rather quickly; fortunately the weather was scattered clouds and visibility was good along with the controller catching the mistake. I feel the language barrier added to this error. I let the controller lead me into a false sense of security when he gave us a vector of 103 degrees thinking this military controller is very precise; normally vectors are given in 5 degree increments. Next time I will follow my gut and question the controller.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Global 5000 First Officer accepts a clearance to descend to 2;800 FT during approach to VAPO. This triggers a GPWS warning and a call from ATC to climb up to 3;800 FT.

Narrative: While being vectored for a VOR approach at Pune; India we were on a right downwind for Runway 28 and on an assigned heading of 103 degrees. We were given a descent to which I understood to be 2;800 FT and read back 2;800 FT. When reaching 2;800 FT we got an EGPWS warning 'To Low GEAR.' When initially hearing 2;800 FT; I thought it was low because on the DME ARC it states 3;800 FT. The pilot flying and our third pilot in the jump seat heard me read back 2;800 FT and didn't question my response. Shortly after receiving the EGPWS warning Approach Control told us we were at 2;700 FT and that we were cleared to 3;800 FT and to climb back up to 3;800 FT. I mentioned to Approach I had understood and read back 2;800 FT and we were climbing to 3;800 FT. This all happened rather quickly; fortunately the weather was scattered clouds and visibility was good along with the Controller catching the mistake. I feel the language barrier added to this error. I let the Controller lead me into a false sense of security when he gave us a vector of 103 degrees thinking this Military Controller is very precise; normally vectors are given in 5 degree increments. Next time I will follow my gut and question the Controller.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Global 5000 first officer accepts a clearance to descend to 2;800 ft during approach to vapo. This triggers a GPWS warning and a call from ATC to climb up to 3;800 ft.