Narrative:

On arrival into iah we checked on with the final approach frequency and stated we were descending through 7;200 on the drllr 5 arrival. We had the drllr 5 with the 26R ILS loaded into the FMS. The approach controller assigned us on the check in runway 26L. We immediately switched the FMS to ILS 26L and inserted domno behind our course but we were already level at 6000 ft for the 26R transition. While we were verifying our new course and altitude on the chart. (Course was unchanged; altitude should have been 7000 for 26L vs 6000 for 26R) we were assigned to fly heading 190 and descend to 4000 for vectors to the visual for 26L. The late change from 26R to 26L caused us to change final descent altitudes on the arrival and caused us to be at the wrong altitude for our transition. Speed and course were unchanged and unaffected but altitudes are different depending on the runway assigned. The lack of catching the difference in the arrival briefing caused us not to be aware of the difference ahead of time until the change was actually given and assigned. By the time we caught the difference after making the change we were already level at the lower altitude and ATC was assigning us lower and a turn off the arrival for the visual approach to the runway. A more in depth brief of the difference along the whole arrival so that we are both aware of the changes that could occur with different runways. Verifying altitudes for both or all optional runways along the arrival to confirm any changes that may result of a runway change.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: CRJ-700 pilot reported an altitude overshoot during descent due to a late runway change.

Narrative: On arrival into IAH we checked on with the final approach frequency and stated we were descending through 7;200 on the DRLLR 5 arrival. We had the DRLLR 5 with the 26R ILS loaded into the FMS. The approach controller assigned us on the check in RWY 26L. We immediately switched the FMS to ILS 26L and inserted DOMNO behind our course but we were already level at 6000 ft for the 26R transition. While we were verifying our new Course and altitude on the chart. (Course was unchanged; Altitude should have been 7000 for 26L vs 6000 for 26R) we were assigned to fly heading 190 and descend to 4000 for vectors to the visual for 26L. The late change from 26R to 26L caused us to change final descent altitudes on the arrival and caused us to be at the wrong altitude for our transition. Speed and Course were unchanged and unaffected but altitudes are different depending on the runway assigned. The lack of catching the difference in the arrival briefing caused us not to be aware of the difference ahead of time until the change was actually given and assigned. By the time we caught the difference after making the change we were already level at the lower altitude and ATC was assigning us lower and a turn off the arrival for the visual approach to the runway. A more in depth brief of the difference along the whole arrival so that we are both aware of the changes that could occur with different runways. Verifying altitudes for both or all optional runways along the arrival to confirm any changes that may result of a runway change.

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.