Narrative:

On climbout; approaching 5;000 ft MSL; we received aural GPWS warnings 'terrain; terrain; pull up etc'. Also noticed radar altimeter was fluctuating between 700 and 1;500 ft indications. This was an obvious error as we were over a major metroplex at 5;000 ft. We continued to fly the plane per normal procedure and via ATC instructions and initially continued on to our destination. We contacted maintenance control via radio and it was decided that we would return to the departure airport to have the problem corrected. An uneventful overweight landing was performed (we were no more than 700 pounds overweight) and we taxied to the gate normally. There is a serious threat with this aircraft due to the repetitive nature of the write-up associated with this GPWS/RA problem. The aircraft had a history of GPWS and RA issues dating back over a month. More recently; there was a repeat write-up in early this month. The corrective action was a replacement of the radar altimeter itself. This; however; did not fix the problem as the discrepancy came about multiple times starting shortly after the unit was replaced. Each corrective action hereafter either involved a 'system reset' or 'system re-racked' and the plane was dispatched for several days. Until our event today; there was no replacement of parts or any significant corrective action associated with the RA and GPWS write-ups. As a result; we returned to the departure airport and the flight canceled. It is the opinion of my crew (and all other crewmembers at this base) that there is a serious threat to our operation in terms of maintenance. These repeat write-ups and constant 'ops check good' 'system reset' procedures are clearly not addressing the failure of the associated equipment. Ultimately; the flight crews are left with following an abnormal or sometimes emergency procedure as a result of the failed piece of equipment. Often times; this leads to a severe operational delay or cancellation. Our relationship with our affiliate airline is already quite strained; especially here. Today was three steps backward from mending any fences.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CRJ200 EGPWS and Radio Altimeter failed in flight numerous times over the period of a month and were not fully repaired so after another failure the crew returned to the departure airport where the flight was canceled.

Narrative: On climbout; approaching 5;000 FT MSL; we received aural GPWS warnings 'terrain; terrain; pull up etc'. Also noticed Radar Altimeter was fluctuating between 700 and 1;500 FT indications. This was an obvious error as we were over a major metroplex at 5;000 FT. We continued to fly the plane per normal procedure and via ATC instructions and initially continued on to our destination. We contacted Maintenance Control via radio and it was decided that we would return to the departure airport to have the problem corrected. An uneventful overweight landing was performed (we were no more than 700 LBS overweight) and we taxied to the gate normally. There is a serious threat with this aircraft due to the repetitive nature of the write-up associated with this GPWS/RA problem. The aircraft had a history of GPWS and RA issues dating back over a month. More recently; there was a repeat write-up in early this month. The corrective action was a replacement of the Radar Altimeter itself. This; however; did not fix the problem as the discrepancy came about multiple times starting shortly after the unit was replaced. Each corrective action hereafter either involved a 'system reset' or 'system re-racked' and the plane was dispatched for several days. Until our event today; there was no replacement of parts or any significant corrective action associated with the RA and GPWS write-ups. As a result; we returned to the departure airport and the flight canceled. It is the opinion of my crew (and all other crewmembers at this base) that there is a serious threat to our operation in terms of maintenance. These repeat write-ups and constant 'ops check good' 'system reset' procedures are clearly not addressing the failure of the associated equipment. Ultimately; the flight crews are left with following an abnormal or sometimes emergency procedure as a result of the failed piece of equipment. Often times; this leads to a severe operational delay or cancellation. Our relationship with our affiliate Airline is already quite strained; especially here. Today was three steps backward from mending any fences.

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.