A flight crew flying the mdw RNAV (rnp) runway 13C were previously cleared to 3;000 feet on the fiss...

Attributes
ACN	1246386
Time
Date	201503
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	MDW.Airport
State Reference	IL
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Dusk
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Large Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Route In Use	STAR FISSK
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	First Officer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 189
Person 2
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 118
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Altitude Crossing Restriction Not Met Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

On arrival into the chicago area via the fissk 3; ATC told us to expect radar vectors for the RNAV Y to 13C. ATC eventually descended us to 3;000 feet before handing us off to the final controller. 3;000 feet is below the mandatory altitude of 4;000 feet at oopla. Approaching tinly; we were cleared the RNAV Y 13C. Inside of tinly; ATC asked if we needed to climb to meet the 4;000 feet 'mandatory' altitude at oopla. They indicated they weren't sure either as this was a non-normal approach for mdw. We were VMC; close to oopla; and declined. We continued to fly the track and intercepted the profile to an uneventful landing. We complied with all ATC's instructions on the arrival. In order for the RNAV approaches to work as advertised; ATC; the aircraft; and the crew need to be on the same sheet of music; IMC or VMC. Any deviations from the script to accommodate traffic flow can cause potential issues.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A flight crew flying the MDW RNAV (RNP) RWY 13C were previously cleared to 3;000 feet on the FISSK 3 RNAV Arrival which put them below the mandatory 4;000 feet at OOPLA on the approach.

Narrative: On arrival into the Chicago area via the FISSK 3; ATC told us to expect radar vectors for the RNAV Y to 13C. ATC eventually descended us to 3;000 feet before handing us off to the Final Controller. 3;000 feet is below the mandatory altitude of 4;000 feet at OOPLA. Approaching TINLY; we were cleared the RNAV Y 13C. Inside of TINLY; ATC asked if we needed to climb to meet the 4;000 feet 'mandatory' altitude at OOPLA. They indicated they weren't sure either as this was a non-normal approach for MDW. We were VMC; close to OOPLA; and declined. We continued to fly the track and intercepted the profile to an uneventful landing. We complied with all ATC's instructions on the arrival. In order for the RNAV approaches to work as advertised; ATC; the aircraft; and the Crew need to be on the same sheet of music; IMC or VMC. Any deviations from the script to accommodate traffic flow can cause potential issues.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.

A flight crew flying the mdw RNAV (rnp) runway 13C were previously cleared to 3;000 feet on the fissk 3 RNAV arrival which put them below the mandatory 4;000 feet at oopla on the approach.