An E-145 flight crew flying the ltown RNAV STAR to mem failed to comply with the ball noted 290 KTS ...

Narrative:

We had briefed the ltown arrival to mem and were approaching spker intersection when ATC asked our speed. I was pm and replied 315 KIAS. ATC informed us that the charted speed for that part of the arrival was 290 KIAS. He then instructed us to slow to 270 KIAS momentarily and then assigned us 290 KIAS as charted. The controller mentioned that this was a common error on the new procedure. The captain conducted what I thought was a thorough briefing. Neither of us noticed the 290 KIAS restriction attached to note ball note a on the chart. While I take full responsibility for failing to see this restriction I also believe from a human factors standpoint this chart needs to be improved.this plate has a very poor layout. I even remember briefing this arrival before and noting to the captain that I thought the layout was poor and would inevitably lead to safety reports. I would bet there are a statistically significant number of altitude and speed deviations associated with this procedure. I am not trying to rationalize my failure; I should have caught this error before it lead to a speed deviation. That being said; a revision to the plate would help avoid these errors. The plate is broken into two pieces rather than the traditional fold out. The altitude and speed notes are small and easy to miss.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An E-145 flight crew flying the LTOWN RNAV STAR to MEM failed to comply with the Ball Noted 290 KTS restriction at SPKER. Unusual formatting and cluttered nature of the STAR chart was noted as a contributing factor.

Narrative: We had briefed the LTOWN arrival to MEM and were approaching SPKER intersection when ATC asked our speed. I was PM and replied 315 KIAS. ATC informed us that the charted speed for that part of the arrival was 290 KIAS. He then instructed us to slow to 270 KIAS momentarily and then assigned us 290 KIAS as charted. The Controller mentioned that this was a common error on the new procedure. The Captain conducted what I thought was a thorough briefing. Neither of us noticed the 290 KIAS restriction attached to note Ball Note A on the chart. While I take full responsibility for failing to see this restriction I also believe from a human factors standpoint this chart needs to be improved.This plate has a very poor layout. I even remember briefing this arrival before and noting to the Captain that I thought the layout was poor and would inevitably lead to safety reports. I would bet there are a statistically significant number of altitude and speed deviations associated with this procedure. I am not trying to rationalize my failure; I should have caught this error before it lead to a speed deviation. That being said; a revision to the plate would help avoid these errors. The plate is broken into two pieces rather than the traditional fold out. The altitude and speed notes are small and easy to miss.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1042635
Time
Date	201210
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	MEM.Airport
State Reference	TN
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	EMB ERJ 145 ER/LR
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	STAR LTOWN
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Speed All Types

An E-145 flight crew flying the ltown RNAV STAR to mem failed to comply with the ball noted 290 KTS restriction at spker. Unusual formatting and cluttered nature of the STAR chart was noted as a contributing factor.