Medium large transport descends below published altitude on arrival procedure.

Attributes
ACN	287647
Time
Date	199411
Day	Thu
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : lax
State Reference	CA
Altitude	msl bound lower : 13000 msl bound upper : 14000
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Commercial Fixed Wing
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Navigation In Use	Other Other
Flight Phase	descent other
Route In Use	arrival other enroute airway : lax
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp pilot : commercial pilot : instrument pilot : flight engineer
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 201 flight time total : 18000 flight time type : 6000
ASRS Report	287647
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : atp pilot : commercial
Events
Anomaly	altitude deviation : excursion from assigned altitude non adherence : published procedure other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : became reoriented
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

Descending on (new) civit one arrival into lax (cleared for civit one arrival) at 68 mi had reached 14000 ft mistook the R68 degree for the mileage. (It is depicted 'RO68' on the commercial chart 10-sf located right below the 52 DME fix.) I descended to 13000 ft before realizing that I could not continue descent until 52 DME. I made a mistake! However I think that RO68 degree position should be moved away from the DME or change the print size! See civit one arrival 10-2F charts.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MLG DSNDS BELOW PUBLISHED ALT ON ARR PROC.

Narrative: DSNDING ON (NEW) CIVIT ONE ARR INTO LAX (CLRED FOR CIVIT ONE ARR) AT 68 MI HAD REACHED 14000 FT MISTOOK THE R68 DEG FOR THE MILEAGE. (IT IS DEPICTED 'RO68' ON THE COMMERCIAL CHART 10-SF LOCATED RIGHT BELOW THE 52 DME FIX.) I DSNDED TO 13000 FT BEFORE REALIZING THAT I COULD NOT CONTINUE DSCNT UNTIL 52 DME. I MADE A MISTAKE! HOWEVER I THINK THAT RO68 DEG POS SHOULD BE MOVED AWAY FROM THE DME OR CHANGE THE PRINT SIZE! SEE CIVIT ONE ARR 10-2F CHARTS.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.