An air carrier approaching levt was cleared for the ILS but when descending to the initial STAR alti...

Narrative:

We were given a descent and then handed over to bilboa approach who then cleared us for the ILS for levt when we were approximately 30 NM from the airport. We were not expecting the clearance but I assumed that we were well above all minimum altitudes as we had been given a rather late descent. We thought it would be safe to descend to 6;000 ft that was listed on a STAR to levt and start the ILS. At approximately 8;500 ft the approach controller informed us that 9;500 ft was the MSA in our area. I leveled off and began to climb; but not as quickly as I should have. Thinking that based on our distance from levt; we should still be descending. No GPWS warning were activated and we had no amber that I noticed on our taws screen at any time. Upon reaching the point where the STAR began; we descended via published altitudes and landed uneventfully. I should have stayed at my last assigned altitude until on the STAR or we should have told the controller we were unfamiliar with the airport and asked for recommended attitudes until established on the ILS. I should have also noted the MSA of the area surrounding levt. In addition; I feel that approach could have been a bit more proactive. We appeared to be the only ones on frequency so I don't think the controller was very busy and recommended altitudes or radar vectors to final would have been useful.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier approaching LEVT was cleared for the ILS but when descending to the initial STAR altitude was advised by ATC that they were below the MSA descending through 8;500 FT.

Narrative: We were given a descent and then handed over to Bilboa Approach who then cleared us for the ILS for LEVT when we were approximately 30 NM from the airport. We were not expecting the clearance but I assumed that we were well above all minimum altitudes as we had been given a rather late descent. We thought it would be safe to descend to 6;000 FT that was listed on a STAR to LEVT and start the ILS. At approximately 8;500 FT the Approach Controller informed us that 9;500 FT was the MSA in our area. I leveled off and began to climb; but not as quickly as I should have. Thinking that based on our distance from LEVT; we should still be descending. No GPWS warning were activated and we had no amber that I noticed on our TAWS screen at any time. Upon reaching the point where the STAR began; we descended via published altitudes and landed uneventfully. I should have stayed at my last assigned altitude until on the STAR or we should have told the Controller we were unfamiliar with the airport and asked for recommended attitudes until established on the ILS. I should have also noted the MSA of the area surrounding LEVT. In addition; I feel that Approach could have been a bit more proactive. We appeared to be the only ones on frequency so I don't think the Controller was very busy and recommended altitudes or radar vectors to final would have been useful.

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	995967
Time
Date	201202
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	LEVT.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Widebody Low Wing 4 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Descent
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 120 Flight Crew Total 13800 Flight Crew Type 3500
Events
Anomaly	Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT

An air carrier approaching levt was cleared for the ILS but when descending to the initial STAR altitude was advised by ATC that they were below the MSA descending through 8;500 ft.