SF340 ACFT ON VECTORS FOR APCH AND CLRED TO INTERCEPT FINAL. PF; CAPT; INTERPED THE CLRNC AS CLRED FOR APCH AND COMMENCED DSCNT WHEN APCH CTLR INTERVENED AND SAID TO MAINTAIN ALT.

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WHILE APCHING AMA; APCH ADVISED US TO SLOW TO 200 KTS TO FOLLOW A BEECH BONANZA TO THE ARPT. WE WERE ABOUT 25 MI FROM THE ARPT AND THE BONANZA WAS ABOUT 12 MI FROM THE ARPT. AS WE SLOWED AND GOT CLOSER; THE BONANZA'S POS WAS CALLED TO US. WE DID NOT SEE THE TFC. AS OUR APCH TO THE ARPT CONTINUED THE BONANZA SLOWED TO HIS FINAL APCH SPD. HE WAS CALLED AGAIN AS TFC AND WE STILL DID NOT SEE HIM. OUR LAST ASSIGNED ALT WAS 6000 FT MSL. WHEN WE WERE ABOUT 6 MI E OF THE ARPT; APCH GAVE US A BASE TURN TO RWY 22 AND ADVISED US TO 'FLY PRESENT HDG UNTIL INTERCEPTING FINAL.' ABOUT 10 SECONDS LATER WE SAW TFC ON ABOUT A 2 MI BASE TO FINAL. BEING AT 6000 FT WE WERE ABOUT 2400 FT ABOVE THE FIELD ELEVATION. THE CAPT WAS FLYING AND STARTED DSCNT. AS THIS OCCURRED WE DISCUSSED WHETHER WE WERE ACTUALLY CLRED FOR THE APCH. AT 5500 FT APCH ANSWERED OUR QUESTION BY TELLING US TO MAINTAIN 6000 FT! WE CALLED THE TFC IN SIGHT AND WERE THEN CLRED FOR THE VISUAL TO RWY 22. THE LNDG WAS COMPLETED WITHOUT ANY FURTHER EVENT. TFC SEPARATION WAS NEVER COMPROMISED. TO AVOID RECURRENCE I WILL: 1) TRY TO LEARN TO NEVER ASSUME; 2) ALWAYS MAKE SURE WE ARE 'CLR FOR APCH' BEFORE PROCEEDING. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 379180: I CALLED CTLR FROM OPS. WE DISCUSSED THE EVENT. I APOLOGIZED FOR MY MISINTERP. HE JOKINGLY PROMISED NOT TO STUFF A SMALL SINGLE ENG ACFT IN FRONT OF US.