We recently received a question from one of our members who will fly to Tortola this Holiday Season. His question addressed the issue of handling changes to his Flight Plan while en route.
When flight planning, always remember Murphy's Law!
If you are planning a flight that requires everything to go perfectly, you can be sure that everything will
NOT go perfectly.
That being said, always make sure that you have carefully reviewed and selected the most suitable alternate airports to include them in the alternates section of you Flight Plan (even if you are flying VFR). The ICAO Flight Plan format allows you to list up to 2 alternate airdromes.
When choosing alternates,make sure that they are ports of entry and that fuel is available; you should also consider runway conditions, weather, social/political situation, entry procedures and landing permits or requirements.
While most of the islands in the Caribbean do not require prior notification or approval in advance to make a landing, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have the same eAPIS requirements as the United States.
For flights not originally destined to the United States or a US Territory, but diverted to a US port due to an emergency, eAPIS must be filed (via CBP eAPIS website or another eAPIS submission provider) no later than 30 minutes prior to arrival; you should also make the call to notify the CBP Officers about your arrival. In cases of non-compliance, CBP will take into consideration that the pilot may not have been equipped to transmit the manifest and the circumstance of the emergency situation.
Nevertheless, you must be able to demonstrate that your trip planning was
reasonable and responsible.
Some useful resources to make a reasonable and responsible flight planning are:
International Weather International Regulations Caribbean Fuel Prices & AOEs CBP at US Designated Airports The Bahamas & Caribbean VFR Enroute Charts The Bahamas & Caribbean IFR Charts We hope you will find this information useful for future flights.
Have you evern been forced to change your flight plan while en route to a foreign country? Let us know your experience.
