Narrative:

After being cleared for the visual approach onto runway 34 in avl; while on a left base in VMC conditions; the pilot flying (first officer) set the altitude for 3;700 ft. After confirming the altitude selected I; the pilot not flying (PIC); checked the approach plate to make sure that altitude was adequate. The pilot flying briefed it before; but I wanted to double check. While double-checking this information the pilot flying started descending. I noticed we were outside of the segment for that altitude and proceeded to notify the pilot flying and at the same time set the altitude to 4;400 ft. The new altitude was too close to the airplane actual altitude and the autopilot did not capture it. I voiced again to the pilot flying that we needed to get to 4;400 ft. The airplane kept descending and immediately when I selected the altitude button to prevent it from descending any further; the airplane GPWS gave us the 'whoop whoop pull up' warning. The pilot flying immediately disconnected the autopilot and climbed to 4;400 ft. The rest of the flight was uneventful.airplane kept descending beyond selected altitude and in the process it got us close to terrain. It was necessary to disconnect the autopilot immediately to climb to the preselected altitude. Next time in situations where the altitude preselected is too close the airplane's actual altitude due to a sudden change in the altitude selected it is better to disconnect the automation and make sure the airplane stop at the altitude desired as supposed to waiting to see if the automation is going to capture it.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CRJ-200 flight crew described a CFIT incident during approach to AVL when they descended early. GPWS reacted accordingly and the crew climbed to a safe altitude.

Narrative: After being cleared for the Visual Approach onto Runway 34 in AVL; while on a left base in VMC conditions; the pilot flying (First Officer) set the altitude for 3;700 FT. After confirming the altitude selected I; the pilot not flying (PIC); checked the approach plate to make sure that altitude was adequate. The pilot flying briefed it before; but I wanted to double check. While double-checking this information the pilot flying started descending. I noticed we were outside of the segment for that altitude and proceeded to notify the pilot flying and at the same time set the altitude to 4;400 FT. The new altitude was too close to the airplane actual altitude and the autopilot did not capture it. I voiced again to the pilot flying that we needed to get to 4;400 FT. The airplane kept descending and immediately when I selected the ALT button to prevent it from descending any further; the airplane GPWS gave us the 'whoop whoop pull up' warning. The pilot flying immediately disconnected the autopilot and climbed to 4;400 FT. The rest of the flight was uneventful.Airplane kept descending beyond selected altitude and in the process it got us close to terrain. It was necessary to disconnect the autopilot immediately to climb to the preselected altitude. Next time in situations where the altitude preselected is too close the airplane's actual altitude due to a sudden change in the altitude selected it is better to disconnect the automation and make sure the airplane stop at the altitude desired as supposed to waiting to see if the automation is going to capture it.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.