A PA60 PLT RPTS THAT HE HAD DIFFICULTY NOTIFYING THE CUSTOMS SVC OF HIS ARR.
Synopsis
A PA60 PLT RPTS THAT HE HAD DIFFICULTY NOTIFYING THE CUSTOMS SVC OF HIS ARR.
Narrative
FOR THE PAST 20 YRS WE HAVE BEEN FLYING TO AND FROM YXU FOR VARIOUS HOLIDAYS AND FAMILY EVENTS (MY WIFE WAS FORMERLY FROM LONDON; ONTARIO). WE NOW USE THE CANADIAN CAN PASS SYS FOR ENTERING CANADA. A PHONE CALL BEFORE WE LEAVE AND ANOTHER UPON ARR AND IT'S DONE. APPARENTLY; THIS HAS NOT YET BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN THE STATES. OUR NORMAL PROC UPON RETURN IS TO STOP AT PHN OR DTW FOR CUSTOMS. THIS IS A ROUTINE EVENT FOR A BORDER CITY. ON THIS TRIP; HOWEVER; THE WX BTWN YXU AND CHICAGO WAS LOW IFR 200 FT; 1 MI AT BEST. WE ELECTED TO FLY DIRECT TO CHICAGO MIDWAY IN THE INTEREST OF SAFETY AND PAX COMFORT. I CALLED FROM CANADA AND SPOKE TO A BRIEFER AT IKK JUST S OF CHICAGO AND HE GAVE ME THE PHONE NUMBER OF THE CUSTOMS SVC. I CALLED THIS NUMBER AT APPROX XA00Z ON DEC/XA/97. IT RANG FOR MORE THAN 25 TIMES AND THERE WAS NO ANSWER. I CALLED THE CANADIAN FSS ABOUT OUR PROPOSED DEP FROM LONDON OF XB30Z AND SAID I HAD BEEN UNABLE TO REACH CUSTOMS. I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS ROUTINE FOR CTR TO ADVISE ADDCUS. WE DEPARTED AT XB30Z AS PLANNED AND TORONTO CTR AT 135.3 TOLD US TO ASK ZOB TO ADVISE CUSTOMS. THE SECOND CTR WAS ZOB AT 132.35; WE WERE LEVEL AT 14000 FT AND I ASKED FOR CONFIRMATION OF ADDCUS AND IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT HE WOULD CALL. OUR TIME ENRTE WAS 2 HRS AND ARR AT MIDWAY WAS APPROX XD30 (TWICE THE REQUIRED 1 HR NOTIFICATION TIME). UPON ARR AT THE FBO IN MDW; I WAS ADVISED BY A CLERK THAT A CUSTOMS INSPECTOR WAS GIVING US A VERBAL CLRNC AND WOULD BE CONTACTING ME LATER BECAUSE HE ONLY HAD 10 MINS NOTIFICATION OF OUR ARR. WE PURCHASED FUEL AND DEPARTED FOR HOME BASE 2IL9. UPON REACHING HOME; I LOOKED UP THE CUSTOMS PHONE NUMBERS FOR MIDWAY AND 2 NUMBERS WERE LISTED. I CALLED THE FIRST NUMBER AND IT WAS CHANGED TO THE SAME NUMBER I WAS GIVEN TO CALL AT LONDON. THE SECOND NUMBER LISTED WAS NO LONGER IN SVC. AGAIN; NO ANSWER. IN SUMMARY; I DID EVERYTHING I COULD TO ADVISE CUSTOMS ABOUT MY ARR. I CALLED THE CORRECT NUMBERS WITH NO RESPONSE. I ASKED CTR TO ADVISE; BOTH TORONTO AND CLEVELAND. IT WAS NOT IN NORMAL BUSINESS HRS AND PERHAPS THAT WAS A FACTOR.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.