PLANNING A VISUAL APCH DOES NOT WORK OUT WHEN WX UPON ARR REQUIRES AN INST APCH. THE NDB APCH IS ISSUED AND FLOWN WITHOUT PRECISION TO A MISSED APCH. A SUBSEQUENT VOR APCH IS SUCCESSFUL.

Narrative

BEING THE PNF ON THIS FLT; I WAS WORKING THE RADIOS AND TALKING WITH ATC. THE PF FILED THE IFR PLANNED RTE AS: KMWC-GRR-LAN-SPARTAN 3 ARR-KOZW. EVERYTHING WAS GOING AS PLANNED. WE GOT THE WX AT OUR DEST AND WE BOTH AGREED THAT WE WOULD DO THE VISUAL APCH. WHEN ATC (LANSING APCH) ASKED WHAT TYPE OF APCH WE WOULD LIKE; I THEN CONFIRMED IT AGAIN WITH THE PF THAT HE WANTED THE VISUAL APCH. SO ATC SAID 'EXPECT THE VISUAL.' WE PROCEEDED ON AND IT WAS LOOKING LIKE WE MAY NOT BE GETTING A VISUAL APCH BEING IMC; SO THE PLT GOT ESTABLISHED ON THE INBOUND BEARING FOR THE NDB APCH TO RWY 13. THE PLT THEN ASKED ME TO GET A CLRNC TO BE CLRED FOR THE NDB APCH BECAUSE IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE WE WOULD GET A VISUAL; SO I CALLED ATC AND HE CLRED US FOR THE NDB APCH TO RWY 13; 7-8 MI OUT AND MAINTAIN 3000 FT UNTIL ESTABLISHED. BUT I NOTICED THE PF HAD LEFT THE ASSIGNED ALT BEFORE BEING CLRED; BY 300 FT. I MENTIONED IT TO HIM BUT HE MIGHT HAVE NOT HEARD ME. WE THEN PROCEEDED DOWN TO THE MDA AND A DIFFERENT CTLR CAME ON SAYING WHY WERE WE GETTING A CLRNC FOR THE APCH 2 MI FROM THE ARPT? THEN; SAID TO CALL LANSING ATC WHEN WE GOT ON THE GND; I SAID 'WE WILL DO THAT.' WE THEN HAD TO DO A MISSED APCH AND GOT VECTORS FOR THE VOR APCH INTO OUR DEST. I THINK CONTRIBUTING FACTORS WERE CONFUSION BTWN THE PF AND ATC INITIATING THE APCH FROM A VISUAL TO AN INST. ALSO; THE PLT LEAVING AN ASSIGNED ALT BEFORE BEING CLRED!