E145 CREW WAS DIRECTED TO RETURN TO THE DEP STATION WHEN IT WAS DISCOVERED THE ACR HAD DISPATCHED THE WRONG ACFT ON THE FLT. THE ACR THEN SHOWED COMPLETE DISORGANIZATION IN TRYING TO RECOVER FROM THE EVENT.

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DURING THE IN-RANGE CALL ON FLT XXXA ON JUN/MON/01; CAPT B AND CAPT A WERE INFORMED THAT THE ACFT WE WERE FLYING (ACFT X) WAS GOING OUTBOUND TO COLUMBUS; OH. OUR RELEASE STATED THAT WE WERE TO TAKE ACFT X TO COLUMBIA; SC; SHORTLY AFTER ARR. I (CAPT A) THEN QUERIED ZZZ OPS REGARDING THE UNPLANNED ACFT SWAP. THE OPS PERSONNEL ASSURED ME THAT WE WERE DEFINITELY SWAPPING FROM ACFT X INTO ACFT Y FOR THE TRIP TO COLUMBIA. UPON LNDG IN DCA; WE PROGRESSED WITH THE SWAP INTO Y. DURING THE PREFLT WALKAROUND; IT WAS NOTED THAT THE BAGS FOR FLT XXXB TO COLUMBIA WERE LOADED IN THE ACFT'S CARGO COMPARTMENT. THE COMMON PRACTICE OF THE ZZZ OPS PERSONNEL IS TO BRING THE RELEASE PAPERWORK AND THE PAX SIMULTANEOUSLY. THIS USUALLY OCCURS SHORTLY BEFORE OR AT DEP TIME; AND IS WHAT HAPPENED ON FLT XXXB. WE PREPARED THE ACFT AND DEPARTED FOR COLUMBIA. WHILE CLBING THROUGH 11000 FT; CAPT B CALLED OUR TIMES INTO ZZZ OPS. SHE WAS INFORMED THAT ACR X DISPATCH WANTED THE ACFT Y RETURNED TO DCA. WANTING ADDITIONAL VERIFICATION; I ALSO QUERIED OPS AS TO THE REASON FOR OUR RETURN AND ALSO TOLD THAT ACR X DISPATCH WANTED THE ACFT RETURNED TO DCA. WHILE RETURNING TO DCA; WE CALLED OPS FOR A PARKING SPOT; OUR OUTBOUND TAIL NUMBER TO COLUMBIA; AND A PLAN OF ACTION FOR THE PAX UPON OUR ARR. WE WERE INFORMED THAT THE OUTBOUND ACFT WAS X AND THEY DID NOT HAVE A PLAN TO ACCOMMODATE THE PAX. WE SUGGESTED KEEPING THE PAX ON THE BUS WHILE WE SWAPPED ACFT IN THE INTEREST OF TIME. THE ABOVE IS SOME OF THE INTERNAL OCCURRENCE RPT SUBMITTED TO ACR X. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS; IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE STATION ENTERED THE TAIL NUMBERS INTO THE FLT INFO SCREEN INCORRECTLY. MIXING THEM UP THUS HAVING THE ACFT TAIL'S BACKWARDS. I WAS GIVING CAPT Y HER SECOND DAY OF IOE IN THE EMB145; WHICH MADE ME SOMEWHAT BUSIER THAN NORMAL; AND HENCE I MISSED THE CORRECT TAIL NUMBER ON OUR FLT RELEASE. CONTRIBUTING TO THIS MISS; WAS THE ARR OF BOTH OUR PAX AND RELEASE AT DEP TIME. WE ARE REMOTE PARKED IN DCA SO IT IS IMPRACTICAL TO WALK INSIDE AND RETRIEVE THE PAPERWORK OURSELVES. THIS ALLOWS VERY LITTLE TIME FORE REVIEW WITHOUT BEING CONSISTENTLY LATE OFF THE GATE. THIS HAS BEEN A LONG-STANDING PROB IN DCA. DISCOVERY: I REALIZED THE MISTAKE AFTER LNDG AND SHUTDOWN WHEN I REVIEWED THE PAPERWORK ONE LAST TIME; AND SAW OUR RELEASE SHOWED X AND NOT Y; WHICH IS WHAT WE WERE IN. CORRECTIVE ACTIONS: WE SWAPPED BACK INTO OUR ORIGINAL ACFT X AND DEPARTED 2 HRS LATE. A CHANGE IN THE RELEASE DISTRIBUTION SYS COULD ALLOW CREWS MORE TIME TO REVIEW THE PERTINENT INFO PRIOR TO FLT. LONGER TIME BTWN FLTS WOULD ALSO HELP WITH MATTERS. THE AIRLINE IS NO LONGER OPERATING PART 135 ACFT AND YET WE ARE EXPECTED TO LOAD A PART 121 ACFT AS IF WE WERE. FURTHERMORE; WHILE 20 MIN TURNS ARE POSSIBLE AT ACR ABC AND OTHERS; THEY HAVE THE NECESSARY PERSONNEL FOR THIS TYPE OF OP. WE AT THE COMMUTERS ARE STILL OFTEN HANDLED BY 1 OR 2 GND PERSONNEL FOR A 20 MIN TURN. IMPRACTICAL AT BEST; DANGEROUS AT WORST. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 515540: AFTER SWAPPING ACFT AND RELOADING PAX; WE THEN PROCEEDED TO WAIT OVER 1 HR FOR OUR OUTBOUND RELEASE. AFTER MULTIPLE CALLS TO ACR X DISPATCH AND ZZZ OPS; WE WERE TOLD OPS WAS OFF-LINE AND OUR FAXED COPIES WERE ON THEIR WAY OUT TO THE ACFT. EVERY 5 MINS; WE REQUESTED AN UPDATE AND WERE TOLD THAT 'THE COPIES HAD JUST COME UP;' AND WERE ON THEIR WAY OUT TO THE ACFT. AFTER 1 HR; WITH NO RESOLUTION; I RAN INSIDE AND WAS ABLE TO LOCATE A COPY OF OUR RELEASE. I THEN CALLED OPS FOR A WX PACKET TO BE BROUGHT OUT TO THE ACFT. WITH ALL THE REQUIRED PAPERWORK NOW ONBOARD; WE THEN WAITED AN ADDITIONAL 15 MINS FOR A LOAD SHEET AND RAMP PERSONNEL. I THINK OPS IN ZZZ NEED TO BE MORE ORGANIZED; THAT WE SHOULD NOT RECEIVE OUR RELEASE AT DEP TIME OR MINS PRIOR AND MORE COM BTWN ZZZ OPS; ACR X DISPATCH AND THE PLTS.