Regional Jet 900 (CRJ900)
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Situational Awareness; Human-Machine Interface
Deviation - Altitude Crossing Restriction Not Met; Deviation - Altitude Undershoot; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Returned To Clearance
Aircraft; Procedure; Human Factors
We were flying the CRJ900 in VNAV mode on the FILPZ1 RNAV arrival into Charlotte; TAZZA transition. As we descended to the final fix (DOSBE) we were required to cross it at 6;000 feet MSL.  The autopilot; in VNAV mode; levelled off early and crossed DOSBE at 7;000 feet MSL.During the arrival; I had the VNAV mode engaged to the Autopilot and the altitude select was at 6;000 feet MSL.  The FMS stated 'CHECK FPLN ALT' and highlighted both fixes yellow: DOSBE (6;000 feet MSL) and WELET (7;000 feet MSL).  The aircraft descended normally until we reached DOSBE where it then crossed DOSBE at 7;000 feet. When I realized the level off I immediately went into vertical speed mode and started a 1;500 fpm descent to 6;000 feet MSL.  I have had this happen to me once before in IAD on a separate arrival; but I caught it before it required a report. I thought the aircraft maybe had some sort of glitch but I think I figured out why this is happening. During this arrival we had the ILS 36L programmed as normal; which included the discontinuity (between the arrival and approach).  The final fix on the arrival is DOSBE which is crossing at 6;000 feet MSL; and the first fix on the approach is WELET which is crossing at 7;000 feet MSL or above. The aircraft saw that WELET was further down in the LEGS page; and must have ignored the discontinuity because it levelled off at it's most restrictive altitude of 7;000 feet MSL when in reality it should have descended to 6;000 feet MSL to meet DOSBE.  I don't think the FMS/Autopilot likes the arrival fix to be lower altitude than the first approach fix altitude.
CLT...FLIPZ ONE RNAV ARRIVAL...While descending via; the autopilot began to level at 7;000 feet just in time to cross DOSBE at 7;000 feet. We were both monitoring the arrival; but by the time we were able to determine what the autopilot had in mind we were right on top of DOSBE at 7;000 feet....not 6;000 feet as published. The PF quickly changed to VS mode and continued on down to 6;000 feet at which time ATC instructed us to descend to 5;000 feet. Nothing was said by ATC regarding the crossing deviation. The CA and I believe since this is a new arrival it might have something to do with WELET; on 36L ILS being a 7;000 feet crossing point. When you load the approach and select WELET as the last fix (not vectors) so that you get a nice long line on your MFD perhaps it creates this issue. I spoke with another crew today that had the same thing happen recently. Perhaps this should be looked into and maybe a memo put out regarding the issue. That is all that happened. No calls or questions from ATC. Everything went just fine. There were no traffic issues of any kind.
CRJ900 flight crew reported crossing DOSBE at 7;000 feet on the FLIPZ1 RNAV arrival to CLT; while the required altitude at DOSBE was 6;000 feet. The aircraft was descending in VNAV with the autopilot engaged; which the Captain quickly changed to vertical speed to continue the descent to 6;000 feet. The FMC was programed with the ILS 36L and with the first fix of WELET; the FMC was honoring the WELET altitude of 7;000 feet.