MD80 CREW INBOUND LAX OVERLOOKED THE APCH NOTE THAT ADVISES PLTS TO PROCEED VIA LNDG RWY 25L UNLESS OTHERWISE INSTRUCTED BY ATC.

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WE WERE ON A SCHEDULED PAX FLT FROM MEXICO LNDG AT LAX. I WAS FLYING WITH A BRAND NEW FO ON HIS FIRST TRIP OUT OF TRAINING. SINCE IT WAS MY LEG; I BRIEFED HIM THAT WE COULD EXPECT EITHER THE PARADISE; JULIAN OR THE VISTA ARR WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF TRANSITIONING TO THE MITTS ARR. ALL OF THESE WE HAVE BEEN ISSUED IN THE PAST WHEN CLRED TO LAX VIA THE JULIAN VOR. I ALSO TOLD HIM WE COULD EXPECT ANY OF THE RWYS AND BE PREPARED FOR EITHER THE N OR S RWY COMPLEX. I REVIEWED THE PDZ ARR RESTRS THINKING IT WAS MOST LIKELY WHAT WE'D BE ISSUED. WE WERE GIVEN CLRNC TO LAX BY ZLA VIA THE PDZ 3 ARR. SINCE I HAD LAST FLOWN THE PDZ ARR; THERE HAD BEEN A CHANGE TO THE PROC ADDING RWY 24L/R TO THE APCH AS WELL AS RWY 25L/R WHICH HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN THE ONLY RWYS ON THE PROC. AFTER BEING HANDED OFF TO SOCAL APCH; WE WERE GIVEN CLRNC TO 'CROSS DUEDD AT 16000 FT; CLRED FOR THE PDZ 3 ARR.' WE CROSSED JEROM AT 15000 FT AND THEN DSNDED TO 12000 FT JUST PAST TEJAY. I ASSUMED; BASED ON PREVIOUS TIMES FLYING THE APCH; THAT SOCAL WOULD CLR US FOR A SPECIFIC RWY. IN THE PAST WHEN WE FLEW THE PDZ ARR; THEY GENERALLY WOULD PROVIDE A VECTOR FOR AN ILS INTERCEPT; USUALLY TO RWY 24R IF POSSIBLE; SINCE OUR TERMINALS ARE ON THE N SIDE OF THE ARPT. IF NOT VECTORS; THEY WOULD EITHER CLR US FOR THE ILS RWY 25L OR TRANSITION TO THE MITTS ARR TO RWY 24R. AS WE PASSED ARNES; THE RWY 25L INTERCEPT POINT; WE WERE STILL AT 12000 FT AWAITING A RWY ASSIGNMENT. I ASSUMED SINCE WE WERE PASSING THE RWY 25L LOC THAT WE WOULD BE ISSUED A CLRNC TO RWY 24L OR RWY 24R. ABOUT THE TIME WE PASSED TRESE; THE RWY 25R LOC INTERCEPT POINT; SOCAL QUERIED US ON WHETHER WE WERE RECEIVING THE RWY 25L LOC AND WE RESPONDED THAT WE HADN'T BEEN ASSIGNED A RWY. WE WERE TOLD TO TURN L 10 DEGS AND INTERCEPT THE RWY 25L LOC AND CLRED FOR THE ILS RWY 25L APCH. AS WE PROCEEDED TO CONFIGURE THE ACFT FOR LNDG AND GET SLOWED DOWN BEHIND A B757; I ASKED MY COPLT IF HE RECALLED BEING ASSIGNED RWY 25L ON THE ARR. NEITHER OF US HEARD A SPECIFIC RWY ASSIGNMENT DURING THE APCH. SINCE WE WERE STILL AT 12000 FT WHEN CLRED FOR THE APCH; WE WERE RATHER STEEP BUT MANAGED TO CONFIGURE AND SLOW. THE WX WAS VMC AND WE NEVER SAW ANY TFC CONFLICTS NOR WAS ANY TFC CALLED OUT; EXCEPT FOR THE B757 WE WERE FOLLOWING. EVEN THOUGH IT WAS DUSK AND A BIT HAZY; WE PICKED UP THE RWY VISUALLY ABOUT 10 MI AND WERE CLRED FOR A VISUAL APCH. AFTER LNDG; I WAS STILL VERY SHAKEN; WONDERING IF WE HAD MISSED A CLRNC OR RADIO CALL. I PULLED OUT MY APCH CHART AGAIN FOR THE PDZ 3 ARR TO SEE IF THERE WAS SOMETHING I HAD MISSED. THE VERY FIRST NOTE UNDER THE TITLE OF THE APCH READ 'ACFT TO PROCEED VIA LNDG RWY 25L UNLESS OTHERWISE INSTRUCTED BY ATC.' I THEN REALIZED THAT SINCE WE HAD NOT BEEN ASSIGNED A SPECIFIC RWY; WE SHOULD HAVE TRANSITIONED TO THE RWY 25L ILS LOC AT ARNES. WE ALSO MISSED THE ALT XING RESTR AT ARNES OF 'CROSS AT OR BELOW 11000 FT; CROSS AT OR ABOVE 10000 FT;' SINCE WE WERE STILL AT 12000 FT WAITING FOR A RWY ASSIGNMENT. NEITHER OF US RECOGNIZED WE SHOULD HAVE FLOWN THE LNDG RWY 25L ARR -- ME BECAUSE OF COMPLACENCY THINKING WE'D PROBABLY GET WHAT WE GOT PREVIOUSLY AND MY COPLT BECAUSE HE WAS TASK SATURATED JUST TALKING ON THE RADIO AND TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE NORMAL PROCS. WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE THAT THE WX WAS VMC AND NO OTHER TFC CONFLICTS WERE PRESENT. THE ARRS FROM THE S INTO LAX HAVE BEEN DIFFICULT; BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNEW WHICH ONE YOU WOULD BE ISSUED OR WHICH RWY YOU'D BE ASSIGNED. THEY ALSO HAVE BEEN CHANGED SEVERAL TIMES WITHIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS. THE LATEST PDZ ARR IS A GOOD SOLUTION; ASSUMING IT IS THE ONE NORMALLY ASSIGNED. I HAVE LEARNED SEVERAL LESSONS FROM THIS EXPERIENCE. FIRST AND FOREMOST; I WILL REVIEW MORE THOROUGHLY THE ARR PROCS; INCLUDING THE VERBAL DESCRIPTIONS AS WELL AS THE GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS; ESPECIALLY IF I KNOW THAT THE PROC HAS BEEN CHANGED. SECOND; IF THERE IS UNCERTAINTY UPON WHICH RWY IS ASSIGNED; I WILL CLARIFY WITH ATC WHICH RWY WE CAN EXPECT OR HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED. AND THIRD; I WILL NOTOVERWHELM A NEW COPLT WITH 'BE PREPARED FOR ANY OF 3 ARRS OR 4 APCHS.' I WILL REQUEST FROM ATC WHAT WE CAN EXPECT SO THAT THERE IS ADEQUATE TIME TO REVIEW THE APPROPRIATE PROCS.