The International Cessna^® 170 Association

New proposed Requirement for Private Aircraft Visiting USA

The 170 Association;

This is a heads up for our association members.

Here is a brief summary of a US Department of Homeland Security Bureau of Customs and Border Protection proposal as it involves private aircraft owners.


The Proposal:

Canadian Private Aircraft will have only one method of notification for entry into the USA with an aircraft and that will be by an electronically submitted passenger manifest before entering the USA.

Private aircraft will not be permitted to enter or leave (I think this means commence the flight) until the pilot receives confirmation of approval, no later than 60 minutes prior to the private flight departure. This is the same practice as used by the airlines. I would like to point out that compared to the private flight of a small 2 or 4 place aircraft, with limited communication resources the process is impractical. Keep in mind that the airlines carry a huge volume of passengers compared to private flyers and have a vast network of personnel to complete this communication and paper work filing exercise at their disposal. The proposal is not practical for the private flyer.

This is very discouraging to Canadian pilots, and I for one, will seldom bother to cross the border with my 170, nor will I invite USA pilots to visit Canada since the hassle appears beyond comprehension for a pleasure flight.

It is no pleasure being subjected to so much confusion and bureaucracy just to fly to the USA.

Therefore, if this proposal is implemented I will no longer plan any flights to the USA to participate in the pleasurable activity of our freely exchanged visits and Conventions as held each year by the International Cessna 170 Association.

Please ensure that our membership is advised of this proposal so that they may voice their concern before implementation.


J.J. Scoles Member #57

I was considering installing a transponder which is required to cross the border, but now I guess I won't bother with it.

The whole border thing has gotten bizarre. In Canada the latest is to arm the grocery cops with guns. Yep those pimple faced kevlar wrapped kids are going to be packing and for what? Let the RCMP and the state troopers who are accustomed to that type of work chase the bad guys if they bust the border. Let the custom guys check whether I've paid my taxes on my milk and cheese purchases from the states. Let Pilots present documentation, passports to custom officials as usual. Its unlikely that the Taliban will choose a fleet of Cessnas to inundate the US, use mass forgery to avoid detection and sneak up on the US by air.

We're slowly being taken over. How are you supposed to send an email from BF Mexico.

Joe

I realize the frustrations felt by this proposed new Customs rules...but it won't be helpful to simply complain here about it. It's true that notifying U.S. Customs only via internet is an impossibility from most locations outside the U.S. Hanging around for an hour in order to receive approval via internet is even more discouraging.
I suspect the real purpose of the proposed rule is to reduce manpower at Customs by transferring the work to the USER (you and me) and/or to deliberately create an impossible task in order to make it profitable for someone to provide the service for pilots.

Instead,... TAKE ACTION! DO SOMETHING about it. Here's How:

http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/regulatory/customs.html

http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/customs/index.html

U.S. Urged to Exempt Canada from Overflight Security Rules
Air Safety Week    12/03/2007

Canada is balking at a U.S. plan that would require Canadian airlines to turn over information about passengers flying above the United States to reach third countries.

The Government of Canada recently submitted its official comments on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the Secure Flight Program, urging the U.S. to exempt all Canadian overflights.

"The Government of Canada is concerned about the implications of the U.S. proposed Secure Flight Program; and we are working hard to find a solution," said Cannon, Canada's Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities "Canada and the United States have long worked closely together to promote aviation security, and this cooperation has greatly intensified since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. We want to continue this spirit of cooperation, which includes an assessment of threat and risk, recognizes existing security initiatives and values privacy and individual rights."

The official comments represent Canada's position and recommendations on the proposed U.S. Secure Flight Program. They include an assertion that, in light of existing strong security protocols and security initiatives and ongoing and growing cooperative capacity to address security challenges, all flights between Canada and third countries that overfly the U.S. should be exempt from the U.S. Secure Flight program. (All domestic Canadian flights, representing over 75 per cent of overflights, will be exempt under the proposed U.S. Secure Flight Program.)

"We acknowledge the right of a country under the international law of the 1944 Chicago Convention to regulate access to its airspace, including overflights that do not land in its territory," continued Minister Cannon. "However, in light of our complementary security systems and the security cooperation of Canada and the United States, and the relative risk, we believe that there are excellent security grounds for the proposed Secure Flight

Program to exempt all flights to, from and within Canada that overfly the United States."

Cannon believes the risks represented by overflights can be mitigated and managed through effective security measures and appropriate cooperation between the two countries.

The official comments also express concern about the impact that the proposed program would have on the privacy of Canadians, many of whom take part in a winter exodus to Mexico, Cuba and the Caribbean. The protection of the privacy of travelers is of critical concern to Canadians.

The concept of consent is central to Canadian privacy standards and Canada is concerned that the proposed Secure Flight program could use passenger information for vetting against watch lists of individuals, beyond those who pose a threat to aviation security.

Earlier this year, the Bush Administration proposed a security program to screen airline passengers and finalized a rule that require air carriers operating international flights to send federal security authorities passenger data before planes take off rather than afterward, as is now the case. DHS said the measures will strengthen aviation security through uniform and consistent passenger prescreening against government watch lists.

DHS published two regulations that will initiate these changes: the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) Predeparture Final Rule, which enables DHS to collect manifest information for international flights departing from or arriving in the United States prior to boarding; and, the Secure Flight NPRM, which lays out DHS plans to assume watch list matching responsibilities from air carriers for domestic flights and align domestic and international passenger prescreening.

Congress mandated that DHS' Customs and Border Protection (CBP) establish a requirement to receive advance information on international passengers traveling by air prior to their departure, as part of the 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA).

Today, CBP requires commercial carriers to provide APIS and certain Passenger Name Record (PNR) data arriving in or departing from the United States. The final APIS predeparture regulation will require air carriers to transmit manifests 30 minutes prior to departure of the aircraft or provide manifest information on passengers as each passenger checks in for the flight, up to the time when aircraft doors are secured.

The new plan would require airline passengers to give their full names when they make their reservations. They also will be asked if they are willing to provide their address, date of birth and sex to reduce false matches with names on government terrorist watch lists.

I guess the feds think terrorists and dope smugglers are going to stop crossing illegally if emails are required. Why didn't they think of that before now?