FLC OF AN MD88 ACCEPTS AND STARTS TO EXECUTE A VISUAL APCH WHEN THE CLRNC WAS FOR ANOTHER FLC AHEAD OF THEM WHILE 20 MI SW OF CLE; OH.

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VECTORED FOR APCH TO RWY 5R AT CLE. 20 NM OUT; TOLD APCH CTLR (128.35) WE HAD FIELD IN SIGHT. APCH ASKED 'WHO HAS FIELD IN SIGHT?' WE REPLIED; WITH FULL CALL SIGN. THEY ROGERED. APCH THEN CLRED WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS 'ACR XYZ' FOR THE VISUAL APCH. FO ACKNOWLEDGED VISUAL; APCH CLRNC; WITH FULL CALL SIGN. THERE WAS NO RESPONSE TO THIS AND WE SWITCHED TO TWR (WHICH WE WERE ALSO INSTRUCTED TO DO). WE CHKED IN WITH TWR AT 12 NM FROM FLD AND WERE CLRED TO LAND. AT 3600 FT MSL WE WERE GIVEN INSTRUCTIONS TO CLB TO 4000 FT; TURN TO 320 DEGS AND SWITCH BACK TO APCH ON 128.35. APCH TOLD US WE WEREN'T CLRED FOR APCH OR FREQ CHANGE TO TWR. WE WERE VECTORED AROUND AND SECOND ATTEMPT WAS UNEVENTFUL. UPON LNDG; I CALLED RADAR AND SPOKE WITH THE SUPVR. HE WAS NOT AWARE OF THE TWR LNDG CLRNC AND SAID HE WOULD REVIEW THE TAPES AND GET BACK TO ME. WE SPOKE FACE-TO-FACE A FEW MINS LATER AT THE GATE. HE SAID THE CTLR WAS UNDER TRAINING. SHE ACKNOWLEDGED OUR FIELD IN SIGHT CALL; THEN CLRED 'ACR ZYZ' FOR THE VISUAL FROM A BASE POS IN FRONT OF US. AS SHE ISSUED THE CLRNC TO ZYZ; SHE CLIPPED OFF THE CALL SIGN BY NOT PRESSING THE MIKE SWITCH BEFORE SHE SPOKE. WE RECEIVED WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS A VISUAL CLRNC AND RADIO CHANGE WHICH WAS ACKNOWLEDGED WITH FULL CALL SIGN AND NOT CHALLENGED. OUR POS ON FINAL AND PACING WAS TYPICAL OF A VISUAL APCH. WE WERE NOT AWARE OF PRECEDING TFC'S POS AND RADAR'S SEQUENCING PLAN UNTIL AFTER LNDG. THE SUPVR BROKE IN ON TWR FREQ TO ISSUE GAR. THE SUPVR CONFIRMED THERE WAS NO LOSS OF SEPARATION BTWN ACFT. NO HARM; NO FOUL; JUST MISCOMS ON BOTH SIDES.