c5load From United States of America, joined Sep 2008, 917 posts, RR: 0 Posted (1 year 8 months 19 hours ago) and read 2311 times:
Not sure if this has been discussed before, I couldnt' find anything so Mods if it has please delete.
When we come in on the C-5 from an international base like ETAR, we are not allowed to deplane nor open any doors except to deplane the scanner until CBP has cleared both the crew and the airplane. Yet when I was on a flight from FRA-ATL a while back, we deplaned as normal and made our way to Customs. Does the airplane and/or cargo itself have to be cleared/checked before anything happens? Do pax not see it or do they deplane before Customs boards?
"But this airplane has 4 engines, it's an entirely different kind of flying! Altogether"
rfields5421 From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 6191 posts, RR: 25 Reply 1, posted (1 year 8 months 18 hours ago) and read 2298 times:
The procedure depends upon the staffing and facilities at the arrival airport.
Commercial airports with full CBP staffs and separatation capability - pax deplane quickly and go into a sterile area to clear Customs and Immigration.
Airports without full CBP staffs and separation capability, like military airports, pax and crew have to wait until CBP arrives at the aircraft.
Travis AFB and McGuire AFB used to have full CBP separation facilities like a commercial airport for arriving passengers, back when almost all military would depart/ arrive at those airports. As much as 8 to 12 full DC-8/B707 flights per day (1,500 to 2,500 pax daily).
I don't think the military maintains that level of expense any longer.
c5load From United States of America, joined Sep 2008, 917 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (1 year 8 months 12 hours ago) and read 2172 times:
Quoting SAAFNAV (Reply 2): What is the scanner position? What does he do?
What the scanner does is conduct outside preflight inspections, clears the aircraft for ground clearance prior to taxi and boards the airplane. He watches the engines during start for any abnormalities, then once boarded conducts an interior inspection for any abnormalities. After block in, he deplanes first and conducts any clearance checks prior to engine shutdown. In flight, if there is a mx issue or something out of the norm, he goes and checks what may be wrong and reports back to the pilot. That's it in a nutshell.
"But this airplane has 4 engines, it's an entirely different kind of flying! Altogether"
rolypolyman From United States of America, joined Mar 2009, 152 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (1 year 8 months 6 hours ago) and read 2014 times:
Quoting c5load (Thread starter): When we come in on the C-5 from an international base like ETAR, we are not allowed to deplane nor open any doors except to deplane the scanner until CBP has cleared both the crew and the airplane.
I don't know about that... back in 1994 I flew from FRA to MBA and back again two months later, on C-5s each way, and we were never met by customs either way or had any kind of arrival screening. That includes during the refueling stop at CAI, where we were milling about next to the taxis while they loaded fuel. I don't know where the ball was dropped or if that's business as usual, but that's what I saw.
SAAFNAV From South Africa, joined Mar 2010, 213 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (1 year 8 months 5 hours ago) and read 1968 times:
Quoting c5load (Reply 3):
What the scanner does is conduct outside preflight inspections, clears the aircraft for ground clearance prior to taxi and boards the airplane. He watches the engines during start for any abnormalities, then once boarded conducts an interior inspection for any abnormalities. After block in, he deplanes first and conducts any clearance checks prior to engine shutdown. In flight, if there is a mx issue or something out of the norm, he goes and checks what may be wrong and reports back to the pilot. That's it in a nutshell.
KELPkid From United States of America, joined Nov 2005, 5962 posts, RR: 4 Reply 8, posted (1 year 8 months 3 hours ago) and read 1950 times:
Quoting c5load (Thread starter): When we come in on the C-5 from an international base like ETAR, we are not allowed to deplane nor open any doors except to deplane the scanner until CBP has cleared both the crew and the airplane. Yet when I was on a flight from FRA-ATL a while back, we deplaned as normal and made our way to Customs. Does the airplane and/or cargo itself have to be cleared/checked before anything happens? Do pax not see it or do they deplane before Customs boards?
I can't speak about commercial flights, because I don't know, but in GA realms, you are required to taxi the aircraft to the "Customs circle", and you are not allowed to exit the aircraft until US Customs says it's okay to do so. And I have flown into ELP when we've gotten "lost" on the ramp (our little Cessna towered over by cargo Convairs, DC-3's and 727s). I remember calling the tower once and requesting a landline to Customs because we had been baking in the sun for an hour, hidden by bigger birds (pre cell-phone days).
Celebrating the birth of KELPkidJR on August 5, 2009 :-)
wn700driver From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 9, posted (1 year 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 7 hours ago) and read 1787 times:
Quoting c5load (Reply 5):
Well that's just a few things, scanners are still flight engineers they just rotate between being at the panel and pulling scanner duty.
Still sounds awesome. Especially considering it's the only place (USAF) where you can fly on a FRED.
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