Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Distraction; Human-Machine Interface; Workload
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert
Aircraft; Human Factors; Procedure
[We were cleared via the] RACYR Arrival to IND. During the descent we were given a PBD [a waypoint defined by its bearing and distance from a charted/named waypoint] of '10NM prior to KELLY at 250K and 10;000 feet.' We put that in the box and LNAV'd to that position. That took us off the magenta line of the RACYR Arrival to Kelly Intersection; as RACYR was behind us; and made a new magenta line to the PBD. I took that clearance to mean: '...proceed directly from our present position to the PBD.' As we were proceeding to the PBD; ATC asked us to clarify the clearance we had received; and then notified us to call their Quality Control for a possible track deviation. This could be prevented by ATC just letting us fly the Arrival as published; with a 'via descent'; and making a standard fix of KELLY/-10 at 10;000 feet and 250K; on the published arrival; as it is the standard clearance every flight coming from the west. I took the clearance; when issued; to proceed from our present position to the PBD because we were being positioned for the visual to 5R. I believe ATC issued a clearance to proceed to an issued PBD.ATC has these crossings restrictions made up--but not published on the arrival--and the crews have to get into heavy FMS work in the final stages of letdowns on the arrivals to runways where we are left high and hot; scrambling to get down and slow down.
When cleared to cross a point 10 NM prior to KELLY intersection while inside RACYR on the RACRY STAR to IND the flight crew of a B767 programmed and executed a 'direct to' the PBD fix and apparently created a track deviation as a result per an advisory from ATC. The reporter took umbrage to ATC's common practice of assigning such clearances; which require significant heads down time to program and execute; rather than revising the STAR to include the restriction.