Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Confusion; Distraction; Human-Machine Interface; Physiological - Other
Ground Event / Encounter Object; Inflight Event / Encounter Object
General None Reported / Taken
Airport; Human Factors
Day VFR landing on runway 28L (new runway for FLL) visual approach. At approx. 2 miles from landing I noticed a very unusual approach end to runway 28L. It seemed like a very large and tall fence at the approach end of the runway. I was concerned and asked my copilot if what I thought I saw was correct; he wasn't sure. Neither one of us had landed on this new runway before. On closer examination it become clear that it was a very tall sea wall approx. 65ft tall surrounded by sand that made it look much taller. Crossing the threshold and just starting to pull the power to idle we received a GPWS warning that both of us thought was 'glideslope' initially. Now just prior to touchdown we realized it was warning was 'TERRAIN'. With the power now at idle; and DAY VFR I thought the safest course of action was to land. Of course there was no terrain ahead of the aircraft and we considered it a false warning. I think the large sea wall and the drastic vertical difference in terrain just prior to landing fooled the GPWS into the alarm. I remember several years ago on an approach plate into Charleston West Virginia that read 'you may receive a false GPWS warning do to terrain'. I think this is a similar condition.The runway is also sloped significantly downhill (even more so than runway 23 in CLT) that may be a contributing factor.Add to the approach plate that a GPWS warning may be triggered do to the 65 feet sea wall at the approach end of runway 28L.
An A321 flight crew landing in VMC on Runway 28L at FLL received a GPWS Terrain warning as they crossed the threshold; closing the throttles for landing.  The reporter suspects the 55 foot raised elevation at the approach end of the runway and the 'seawall' type structure supporting it contributed to a false warning.