Flight crew inbound to LAS reported they noticed their assigned COKTL2 arrival routes aircraft through restricted airspace.
Synopsis
Flight crew inbound to LAS reported they noticed their assigned COKTL2 arrival routes aircraft through restricted airspace.
Narrative
Filed flight plan and clearance did not include a transition for the COKTL 2 arrival into LAS. Waypoint BASIC was part of the flight plan and was the point prior to the arrival in the routing. This point is also a mid point on the arrival. The arrival has different points depending on which transition is assigned. With no transition assigned; the route would have taken us through the corner of a restricted area. In cruise I noticed that our flight path would take us close to the corner of a restricted area. As I was pointing this out to the PIC (Pilot in Command); ATC inquired about our flight path. We verified that we were going from BASIC to COKTL on the arrival; as assigned. ATC then cleared us to a different point on the arrival to ensure our path kept clear of the restricted area. ATC then said other aircraft had the same problem that morning and asked us to provide further information once on the ground.When the arrival is laid in with out a transition the FMS will make COKTL the first point on the arrival. New clearance given by ATC and laid into the FMS to keep clear of the restricted area. Ensure a transition has been assigned by ATC for the COKTL 2 even if it wasn't filed for a transition.
Second reporter narrative
Flying the route from BASIC to COKTL as filled and cleared. When LA Center gave us a heading and queried what our route was. Controller mentioned that other aircraft had flown the same route and they were trying to figure out why. The route in our flight plan and clearance did not include a transition for the arrival. There are additional fixes between BASIC and COKTL on the transition that were not assigned. There was evidently no traffic conflict but we may have been headed toward other (MOA) airspace when given a heading and subsequent clearance. Transition to the arrival was not part of the route assigned. Suggestions - Flight planning and clearances can be queried when there is no transition assigned.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.