The Ground Proximity Warning System was developed in the 1970s to reduce controlled flight into terrain accidents, and a computerised version became standard on airliners like the Airbus A320, which entered service in 1988. Its distinctive synthetic voice was designed to cut through cockpit noise and demand immediate action. Recordings and simulator recreations later spread among aviation enthusiasts and flight sim communities, where the full alert sequence became a recognisable shorthand for an aircraft in serious trouble, long before it was reused as a meme sound.