A300 FLC RECEIVED 3 MEM STAR CHANGES AND ADVISE THEY WILL NOT MEET XING RESTRS DUE TO COCKPIT COMPLEXITY WHEN QUESTIONED BY ZME.

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FLT RTE STL-MEM. ORIGINAL CLRNC WAS LINDY 2 DEP; ARG; GQE 3 ARR MEM. 20 MINS INTO FLT; ZKC CLRED FLT DIRECT GQE. FLT HANDED OFF TO ZME. FLT CLRED TO DSND TO FL250. FLT CLRED DIRECT WILDER; WILDER 4 ARR (SECOND APCH). HDG TO WILDER; APPROX 140 DEGS; FLT HANDED OFF TO SECOND ZME CTLR. UPON SWITCHING FREQS; WE HEARD ZME ISSUING A CLRNC. MOMENTS LATER; ZME REPEATED THE SAME CLRNC WITH OUR CALL SIGN. ZME THEN ASKED IF WE WERE INTERCEPTING THE MEM 010 DEG RADIAL. WE RESPONDED; 'NO; WE ARE DIRECT WILDER.' ZME THEN CLRED US TO INTERCEPT THE MEM 010 DEG RADIAL; CROSS 40 NM NE OF MEM AT 10000 FT; CLRED THE HANDY 1 ARR (THIRD ARR). WE ACKNOWLEDGED THE CLRNC AND PREPARED FOR YET ANOTHER CHANGE. 3 DIFFERENT ARRS ISSUED IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME WERE ENOUGH TO DISTRACT BOTH PLTS. WE NEXT RECEIVED A CALL FROM ZME ASKING IF WE WERE GOING TO MAKE OUR XING RESTR. WE REPLIED 'NO.' CTR ASKED WHY. WE STATED; 'TOO MANY CHANGES; NOT ENOUGH TIME.' AFTERWARDS; WE WERE VECTORED OFF THE ARR; EXPEDITED OUR DSCNT AND ARRIVED AT MEM WITHOUT FURTHER EVENT. WHY SO MANY CHANGES? WHY WAS THE SECOND MEM CTLR EXPECTING US TO BE ON A DIFFERENT CLRNC? WHY WERE WE ASSIGNED A XING RESTR WAY INSIDE THE 3:1 RULE FOR DSCNT? WHY DIDN'T WE RECOGNIZE WE WERE NOT GOING TO MAKE THE RESTR AND ADMIT IT EARLY? A LESSON LEARNED. DON'T LET TASK SATURATION OVERSHADOW THE BIG PICTURE. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 558421: THERE WAS MUCH CHATTER BEFORE FO RECHKED IN WITH ZME. ZME THEN ADVISED US WE WERE NOW CLRED TO CROSS 40 MI N OF MEMPHIS AT 10000 FT ON THE 010 DEG RADIAL; WHICH FO READ BACK. I ATTEMPTED TO SET UP THE INTERCEPT ON VOR/ARC FUNCTION; PRIMARILY TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHERE I WAS. ZME THEN ADVISED US WE WERE CLRED VIA THE HANDY 1 ARR INTO MEMPHIS. FO READ BACK AND ATTEMPTED TO LOAD INTO FMS. WE WERE ON THE MEM 360 DEG RADIAL; 73 DME; HDG 140 DEGS. WE INTERCEPTED THE RADIAL INBOUND; BUT HAD NOT BEGUN OUR DSCNT. MEM CTLR THEN GAVE US +/-160 DEG VECTOR AND ASKED WHY WE WOULD NOT MAKE THE RESTR. I REPLIED THAT WE HAD TOO MANY CLRNCS IN TOO LITTLE TIME.