FO OF A CESSNA C650 FAILED TO DSND IN SUFFICIENT TIME AND RATE TO MAKE XING RESTR. ARTCC RADAR CTLR INTERVENED AND GAVE AN OFF COURSE HDG FOR ADDITIONAL AIRSPACE TO HELP MAKE THE XING RESTR.

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WAS IN CRUISE AT FL350; COPLT WAS PF. WE RECEIVED A XING CLRNC TO CROSS 120 MI N OF CHS VOR AT AND MAINTAIN FL280. I ACKNOWLEDGED THE CALL; PUT THE NEW ALT IN THE ALERTER; VERIFIED IT WITH THE COPLT (WHO WAS PF); AND ARMED THE ALT PRESELECT. WE WERE STILL 80 MI AWAY; AND THE PF ELECTED NOT TO START DOWN YET. AT 40 MI TO THE FIX (ABOUT 6 MINS) I REMINDED THE PF THAT WE WERE '40 TO THE CROSS; 6 MINS' AND HE ACKNOWLEDGED; THEN BEGAN A DSCNT. I THEN GOT ATIS FOR OUR DEST (CHS); STARTED AND COMPLETED THE DSCNT CHK TO THE TRANSITION; AND TOOK A COMPANY CALL. AT 20 MI I REMINDED HIM THAT WE ONLY HAD 3 MINS TO GO; AND WE WERE JUST DSNDING THROUGH FL330. HE STEEPENED THE DSCNT IN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT; JUST AT THAT TIME A PAX CAME FORWARD WITH A MINOR PROB CONCERNING TRANSPORTATION AT THE ARPT. I TOLD HIM I WOULD DEAL WITH IT SHORTLY. I THEN CAME 'BACK' TO OUR DSCNT TO DISCOVER WE HAD ONLY 6 MI TO GO TO THE XING RESTR (LESS THAN 1 MIN) AND WE WERE STILL ONLY AT FL310; WITH ONLY A 2000 FPM DSCNT. I SAID TO THE COPLT (PF) THAT WE WEREN'T GOING TO MAKE THE XING IF HE DIDN'T EXPEDITE! HE LOOKED AT ME AND SAID WE STILL HAD 20 MI TO GO! I POINTED TO THE DME DISPLAY (SET TO CHS; ON HIS SIDE OF COCKPIT) TO SHOW HIM. HE HAD BEEN LOOKING AT HIS FMS DISPLAY; WHICH HAD BEEN SET TO AN IAP FOR CHS. (THE FMS TOTALS THE MILEAGE FROM PRESENT POS TO THE NEXT FIX TO THE FINAL FIX -- IN THIS CASE CHS -- AND THAT TOTAL WAS GREATER THAN THE DISTANCE DIRECT TO THE CHS VOR.) AT 124 DME THE CTLR SAID 'IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE THE RESTR; FLY HDG 270 DEGS' (1 50 DEG TURN). WE HURRIED ON DOWN WHILE TURNING; AND THE CTLR ASKED WHY WE DIDN'T MAKE THE RESTR. I TOLD HIM WE HAD MISSET THE NAV GEAR.