FLC CROSSED IN FRONT OF ANOTHER ACFT AHEAD OF THEM ON FINAL DUE TO MISTAKENLY IDENTING THE WRONG ACFT TO FOLLOW.

Narrative

THIS FLT ORIGINATED IN COLUMBUS; OH; AND TERMINATED IN CLEVELAND. IT WAS 40 MINS LONG AND IN VMC; AND WAS THE SECOND TRIP OF THE DAY. THE ACFT; AN EMB 120; WAS NOT EQUIPPED WITH TCASII. AT ABOUT 15 NM FROM ARPT; APCH POINTED OUT OUR TFC TO FOLLOW AT 12 O'CLOCK ON FINAL APCH TO RWY 5R. WE ACKNOWLEDGED TFC AND WERE CLRED TO FOLLOW HIM FOR THE VISUAL APCH TO RWY 5R. AT ABOUT 8 NM; BEFORE TURNING ONTO FINAL; APCH INFORMED US WE WERE GAINING ON OUR TFC AND WERE TOLD TO SWITCH TO RWY 5L; PASS BEHIND TFC AND DO NOT PASS TFC ON FINAL. OUR SPACING ON THE ACFT WE WERE FOLLOWING WAS FINE; ABOUT 4 NM. AS WE CROSSED THE APCH PATH OF RWY 5R; ANOTHER ACFT ON THE FREQ INFORMED APCH THAT AN ACFT (US) HAD JUST PASSED IN FRONT OF HIM. WE PROCEEDED TO TURN ON FINAL FOR RWY 5L AND HE PROCEEDED FOR RWY 5R. AT THIS TIME WE WERE STILL UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT WE WERE FOLLOWING THE RIGHT ACFT; WHICH BY NOW WAS ALREADY ON THE GND. WHEN WE WERE FIRST GIVEN TFC TO FOLLOW; EVIDENTLY WE IDENTED THE WRONG ACFT. WE WRONGLY WERE FOLLOWING THIS ACFT TO THE ARPT. WHEN APCH SWITCHED US TO THE L RWY; THIS WAS TO AVOID GAINING ON OUR TFC. EVIDENTLY HE HAD PERCEIVED A POSSIBLE CONFLICT AND IF HE WOULD HAVE LET US KNOW; OR PERHAPS VERIFIED WHERE OUR TFC WAS; THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED. IF HE MAYBE WOULD HAVE WORDED HIS INSTRUCTIONS DIFFERENTLY WHEN HE SWITCHED US TO THE OTHER RWY; WE THEN MIGHT HAVE PERCEIVED A PROB WAS AT HAND. ALSO; FOR THE PAST 2 1/2 YRS I HAVE BEEN FLYING ACFT WITH TCASII. I BELIEVE THAT IF WE WOULD HAVE HAD TCASII THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED; AS WE COULD HAVE BACKED UP WHAT WE SAW VISUALLY WITH THE TCASII DISPLAY. WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DETERMINE VERY EARLY IN THIS CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT WE WERE FOLLOWING THE WRONG ACFT.