B737 flight crew fails to make an altitude crossing restr. The captain was flying via the FMS and the first officer was putting his chart revisions in his handbook. Both were in conversation. Neither was monitoring the progress of the flight in the descent procedure.

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Attributes
ACN	380850
Time
Date	199709
Day	Mon
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : czq
State Reference	CA
Altitude	msl bound lower : 24000 msl bound upper : 28000
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : zoa tower : dal
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Navigation In Use	Other
Flight Phase	descent other
Route In Use	arrival other arrival star : star
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 230 flight time total : 9000 flight time type : 3200
ASRS Report	380850
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
Events
Anomaly	aircraft equipment problem : less severe altitude deviation : undershoot altitude deviation : crossing restriction not met non adherence : published procedure non adherence : clearance non adherence : far
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	controller : issued new clearance none taken : insufficient time other
Consequence	faa : reviewed incident with flight crew
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation other

Narrative:

We were flying from lax to smf at 35000 ft on the wraps 5 arrival to smf. We had been given a crossing restr at turlo intersection of FL240. The captain was flying the leg. We were conversing while I was revising my manuals. Center asked us if we were going to make the turlo restr. We had about 2 mins to descend 11000 ft at that point. I asked center for relief on the restr due to starting down too late. Oakland said to 'do the best we could' on the descent. We reached FL240 about 7 mi past turlo intersection. We were then given the telephone number to ZOA. The captain called when we reached smf. Center said that no conflicts occurred because of the late descent. The captain was very senior and I wasn't paying enough attention to his descent planning. We had the crossing restr in the FMC with the descent page selected but we were not looking at it.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 FLC FAILS TO MAKE AN ALT XING RESTR. THE CAPT WAS FLYING VIA THE FMS AND THE FO WAS PUTTING HIS CHART REVISIONS IN HIS HANDBOOK. BOTH WERE IN CONVERSATION. NEITHER WAS MONITORING THE PROGRESS OF THE FLT IN THE DSCNT PROC.

Narrative: WE WERE FLYING FROM LAX TO SMF AT 35000 FT ON THE WRAPS 5 ARR TO SMF. WE HAD BEEN GIVEN A XING RESTR AT TURLO INTXN OF FL240. THE CAPT WAS FLYING THE LEG. WE WERE CONVERSING WHILE I WAS REVISING MY MANUALS. CTR ASKED US IF WE WERE GOING TO MAKE THE TURLO RESTR. WE HAD ABOUT 2 MINS TO DSND 11000 FT AT THAT POINT. I ASKED CTR FOR RELIEF ON THE RESTR DUE TO STARTING DOWN TOO LATE. OAKLAND SAID TO 'DO THE BEST WE COULD' ON THE DSCNT. WE REACHED FL240 ABOUT 7 MI PAST TURLO INTXN. WE WERE THEN GIVEN THE TELEPHONE NUMBER TO ZOA. THE CAPT CALLED WHEN WE REACHED SMF. CTR SAID THAT NO CONFLICTS OCCURRED BECAUSE OF THE LATE DSCNT. THE CAPT WAS VERY SENIOR AND I WASN'T PAYING ENOUGH ATTN TO HIS DSCNT PLANNING. WE HAD THE XING RESTR IN THE FMC WITH THE DSCNT PAGE SELECTED BUT WE WERE NOT LOOKING AT IT.

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.