BE20 pilot descends early on IAP.

Attributes
ACN	759400
Time
Date	200710
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	airport : zzz.airport
State Reference	US
Altitude	msl bound lower : 3000 msl bound upper : 5000
Environment
Flight Conditions	Marginal
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : zzz.artcc
Operator	general aviation : corporate
Make Model Name	Super King Air 200 HDC
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Navigation In Use	other
Flight Phase	descent : approach
Route In Use	approach : instrument non precision
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : corporate
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 53 flight time total : 12000 flight time type : 2500
ASRS Report	759400
Person 2
Affiliation	government : faa
Function	controller : radar
Events
Anomaly	altitude deviation : excursion from assigned altitude non adherence : published procedure non adherence : clearance
Independent Detector	other controllera
Resolutory Action	controller : issued advisory
Consequence	faa : reviewed incident with flight crew
Supplementary
Problem Areas	ATC Human Performance Chart Or Publication Flight Crew Human Performance
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation

Narrative:

I misread altitude required on approach and was descending to 2600 ft out of 5000 ft. Center advised that I should have remained at 5000 ft till passing fix and then descended. Approach plate misled me to believe I could descend after procedure turn. After the fact; under closer scrutiny; I realized my mistake for GPS/RNAV approach runway 2.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: BE20 PLT DESCENDS EARLY ON IAP.

Narrative: I MISREAD ALT REQUIRED ON APCH AND WAS DSNDING TO 2600 FT OUT OF 5000 FT. CTR ADVISED THAT I SHOULD HAVE REMAINED AT 5000 FT TILL PASSING FIX AND THEN DSNDED. APCH PLATE MISLED ME TO BELIEVE I COULD DSND AFTER PROC TURN. AFTER THE FACT; UNDER CLOSER SCRUTINY; I REALIZED MY MISTAKE FOR GPS/RNAV APCH RWY 2.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 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.