Security Issue – Customs
Upon arrival in Las Vegas at [FBO name], the flight was required to clear Customs. The crew was supposed to keep the aircraft door closed until a customs officer arrived and granted permission to open it. The captain, [name], unintentionally opened the aircraft door, treating the arrival as a normal domestic flight and overlooking the fact that the flight had originated from a foreign country. The first officer did not alert or remind the captain to keep the door closed until cleared by Customs.
All passengers forgot to clear Customs before getting into the van, and one of them was a co-owner of the aircraft. All individuals onboard did not recognize that customs clearance was required at that moment. [FBO name] personnel dispatched a van to transport the passengers and their baggage and did not recognize that Customs clearance was required prior to transport.
The situation resulted in all parties involved—crew, passengers, and FBO personnel not following the exact protocols to clear Customs, as the arrival was unintentionally treated like a domestic operation. The van began moving away from the aircraft with the passengers, while the crew remained behind. After a few seconds, the captain realized that Customs clearance had not been completed and immediately contacted [FBO name] to stop the van from leaving the airport premises. [FBO name] responded that the van had not yet exited the area.
Within moments, the van returned with the passengers to meet the Customs officer and complete the clearance process. Customs officers then met the crew at the aircraft, conducted an inspection, and instructed the crew to proceed inside for Customs clearance. The officer requested a statement regarding the incident. The captain provided a statement acknowledging that the event was an unintentional oversight and that there was no intent to violate Customs regulations.
Suggestions:
Customs should have been part of the crew briefing, which was lacking. The customs agent was noted on our trip sheet. In fact, it was the first time I have cleared Customs there. When we do clear Customs normally (for example at SFO), we are met first by the CBP officers, not the ramp linemen. At some other locations (for example Brownsville) we taxi to a separate Customs ramp area. At LAS we don’t normally clear Customs, so “muscle memory” is to start unloading baggage and deplaning passengers right away. Although I was not PIC and thus not in command of the flight, it would have been better if I had realized “wait, this is international, we need to clear Customs.”
ERC Acceptance & Closing Notes
- Crew to be counseled and to undergo re-training with Chief Pilot.
- GOM to be revised and distributed to pilots.
Safety Takeaway:
Clearing Customs may not seem ordinary in domestic flights. It’s important to ensure all flight operations are briefed from start to the end. In this case, it was the crew’s duty to transfer passengers over to Customs. It is highly recommended to add a note on GOM or checklists to note different procedures for international flights.
