B737-300 fist officer reports a last minute change from runway 24R to 25L then to 25R at lax which c...

Narrative:

Inbound to lax; we were set up for an approach to 24R off of the riivr 2 arrival. We were then told to descend via the riivr 2 and cleared the ILS 25L. That was no problem since we had adequate time to reprogram the box and pull out the new approach plate. While on final; we were given a speed change (don't remember the details) and were told we were cleared direct taank for the ILS 25R. This put us in a jam since we were in a -300 and had to find the appropriate approach plate and reprogram the box. By the time we got the box programmed; the course indicator didn't make sense to me since I now realize we were already past taank. In the heat of the moment; I felt like I was flying blind and did not have good situational awareness. At one point the controller asked about our location and the captain said something about just finishing the reprogramming and were correcting. He also said the field was in sight and we were cleared visual approach 25R. Since I lost situational awareness momentarily; I believe I may have drifted right slightly and gotten slightly low on the approach at or above altitudes. We eventually 'got back into the green;' but it was very uncomfortable! I believe we worked well as a crew and did our best to adjust to this last-minute change. I don't understand why this happens so often. Please relay to the controllers that these last-minute changes can really throw us into a fur ball. It is not good business to switch us like that in such a busy environment. It takes a while to recover and; in that time; bad things can happen with fast moving airplanes.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737-300 Fist Officer reports a last minute change from runway 24R to 25L then to 25R at LAX which causes confusion and possible altitude and track deviations. The Captain reports the field in sight and is cleared for the visual.

Narrative: Inbound to LAX; we were set up for an approach to 24R off of the RIIVR 2 Arrival. We were then told to descend via the RIIVR 2 and cleared the ILS 25L. That was no problem since we had adequate time to reprogram the box and pull out the new approach plate. While on final; we were given a speed change (don't remember the details) and were told we were cleared direct TAANK for the ILS 25R. This put us in a jam since we were in a -300 and had to find the appropriate approach plate and reprogram the box. By the time we got the box programmed; the course indicator didn't make sense to me since I now realize we were already past TAANK. In the heat of the moment; I felt like I was flying blind and did not have good situational awareness. At one point the Controller asked about our location and the Captain said something about just finishing the reprogramming and were correcting. He also said the field was in sight and we were cleared visual approach 25R. Since I lost situational awareness momentarily; I believe I may have drifted right slightly and gotten slightly low on the approach at or above altitudes. We eventually 'got back into the Green;' but it was very uncomfortable! I believe we worked well as a crew and did our best to adjust to this last-minute change. I don't understand why this happens so often. Please relay to the controllers that these last-minute changes can really throw us into a fur ball. It is not good business to switch us like that in such a busy environment. It takes a while to recover and; in that time; bad things can happen with fast moving airplanes.

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.

Attributes
ACN	1175023
Time
Date	201405
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	SCT.TRACON
State Reference	CA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-300
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Descent
Route In Use	STAR RIIVR2
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying First Officer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 172 Flight Crew Type 6958
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Deviation - Altitude Crossing Restriction Not Met Deviation - Procedural Clearance Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Track / Heading All Types

B737-300 fist officer reports a last minute change from runway 24R to 25L then to 25R at lax which causes confusion and possible altitude and track deviations. The captain reports the field in sight and is cleared for the visual.