Shafted by the Transport Canada?

This morning I received a letter from Transport Canada informing me I
am being fined $250 for not filing a flight plan. I had flown from
Minot, ND to Regina, Canada on July 30, 2005. I had meticulously
planned the flight using the AOPA webpage on the subject (got all the
radio station permits, customs decal, etc.). I am absolutely sure that
I had filed and activated a VFR flight plan for that flight. I had a
squawk code and was getting flight following, but when I landed in
Canada the FSS couldn't find my flight plan to close it. I was
informed of the investigation by a phone call about a month after the
flight. Conveniently for Transport Canada, Minot ATC erases their
tapes after two weeks according to the manager of the Minot FSS. I
submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Great
Lakes Regional FSS as soon as I heard of the investigation in September
2005. As expected, Great Lakes said they don't keep records long
enough to fill my request. BTW, they were terrible to deal with. The
FOIA woman never answers her phone and never returned any of my calls.
The only response from Great Lakes FSS was a letter in February 2006
saying they no longer had records for that time period.

So, basically Canada says I didn't file a flight plan and I don't have
any way of proving that I did. Anybody have any ideas on how to
dispute this or had a similar experience? (AOPA Legal was no help.
Their only suggestion was the FOIA request.)

Thanks,
Bob

wrote in message
ups.com...
Anybody have any ideas on how to
dispute this or had a similar experience?

Do you ever plan on going to Canada again? If not, tell 'em to **** off...
It's not like they can extradite you, right?

wrote in message
ups.com...
This morning I received a letter from Transport Canada informing me I
am being fined $250 for not filing a flight plan. I had flown from
Minot, ND to Regina, Canada on July 30, 2005. I had meticulously
planned the flight using the AOPA webpage on the subject (got all the
radio station permits, customs decal, etc.). I am absolutely sure that
I had filed and activated a VFR flight plan for that flight. I had a
squawk code and was getting flight following, but when I landed in
Canada the FSS couldn't find my flight plan to close it. I was
informed of the investigation by a phone call about a month after the
flight. Conveniently for Transport Canada, Minot ATC erases their
tapes after two weeks according to the manager of the Minot FSS. I
submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Great
Lakes Regional FSS as soon as I heard of the investigation in September
2005. As expected, Great Lakes said they don't keep records long
enough to fill my request. BTW, they were terrible to deal with. The
FOIA woman never answers her phone and never returned any of my calls.
The only response from Great Lakes FSS was a letter in February 2006
saying they no longer had records for that time period.

So, basically Canada says I didn't file a flight plan and I don't have
any way of proving that I did. Anybody have any ideas on how to
dispute this or had a similar experience? (AOPA Legal was no help.
Their only suggestion was the FOIA request.)

Thanks,
Bob




Find the paper flight plan you filled out and fax or mail a copy to them,
pointing out the area where you noted the date and time it was filed.

wrote:

So, basically Canada says I didn't file a flight plan and I don't have
any way of proving that I did. Anybody have any ideas on how to
dispute this or had a similar experience? (AOPA Legal was no help.
Their only suggestion was the FOIA request.)

I would tackle as a customer/vendor relationship.

Write to this agency requesting that they wave the penalty, which will
encourage you to again fly into Canada and spend your money in their
country for more enjoyable services such as hotels, restaurants, and
entertainment. Send a copy to the Canadian aircraft owners & pilots
organization and the Canadian tourist board/agency.

Inform this group that you did file a VFR flight plan and that you
performed extensive research of the requirements of flying into Canadian
airspace before taking the flight. Let them know that flying into Canada
is a method of transportation that allows you to take more vacations into
their country than you would otherwise.

Conclude with the fact that if they continue to insist on penalizing you,
you will never again take another vacation into Canada and the $250 you
send them will be the last dollar you spend in their country ever.
Furthermore, you will spread the word via the Internet that Canada is not a
GA-friendly country and you will encourage every pilot you know to avoid
Canadian airspace and the businesses that thrive from this mode of
transportation.

Living in New York state, I used to drive over the border to buy Canadian
beer when I was in college (back before the days of good micro-breweries
here in the US). One time while eating at a small Canadian city
restaurant, our parking meter ran out before we could refill it.

Upon returning to the car, we spotted what looked to be a parking ticket
under the wiper. This is roughly what the ticket read (no lie): "This
paper is to inform you that your meter has run out. However, because you
are from a different country, we are not penalizing you. Instead, we are
thanking you for your business in our country."

I thought that was pretty classy.

--
Peter

I don't know if this will help you, but if you file an itinerary with a
responsible person, then you don't have to file a flight plan. An
itinerary is just a record of your trip. A lot of pilots file with
their wife, but it could be anybody.

In case anyone's interested, here's the relevant Canadian regulations.
They claim I busted (4).

Requirement to File a Flight Plan or a Flight Itinerary

602.73 (1) Subject to subsection (3), no pilot-in-command shall operate
an aircraft in IFR flight unless an IFR flight plan has been filed.

(2) No pilot-in-command shall operate an aircraft in VFR flight unless
a VFR flight plan or a VFR flight itinerary has been filed, except
where the flight is conducted within 25 nautical miles of the departure
aerodrome.

(3) A pilot-in-command may file an IFR flight itinerary instead of an
IFR flight plan where

(a) the flight is conducted in part or in whole outside controlled
airspace; or

(b) facilities are inadequate to permit the communication of flight
plan information to an air traffic control unit, a flight service
station or a community aerodrome radio station.

(4) Notwithstanding anything in this Division, no pilot-in-command
shall, unless a flight plan has been filed, operate an aircraft between
Canada and a foreign state.

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
I don't know if this will help you, but if you file an itinerary with a
responsible person, then you don't have to file a flight plan. An
itinerary is just a record of your trip. A lot of pilots file with
their wife, but it could be anybody.

No a flight plan must be filed when crossing an international border.

Call your Congressman, this is a matter for Condi's State
Department. Tell Canada that you filed and since you had a
discrete squawk, there should be records of the radar tapes
that will show your aircraft and may indicate that it was on
a flight plan.


--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
See http://www.fija.org/ more about your rights and duties.


wrote in message
ups.com...
| This morning I received a letter from Transport Canada
informing me I
| am being fined $250 for not filing a flight plan. I had
flown from
| Minot, ND to Regina, Canada on July 30, 2005. I had
meticulously
| planned the flight using the AOPA webpage on the subject
(got all the
| radio station permits, customs decal, etc.). I am
absolutely sure that
| I had filed and activated a VFR flight plan for that
flight. I had a
| squawk code and was getting flight following, but when I
landed in
| Canada the FSS couldn't find my flight plan to close it.
I was
| informed of the investigation by a phone call about a
month after the
| flight. Conveniently for Transport Canada, Minot ATC
erases their
| tapes after two weeks according to the manager of the
Minot FSS. I
| submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to
the Great
| Lakes Regional FSS as soon as I heard of the investigation
in September
| 2005. As expected, Great Lakes said they don't keep
records long
| enough to fill my request. BTW, they were terrible to
deal with. The
| FOIA woman never answers her phone and never returned any
of my calls.
| The only response from Great Lakes FSS was a letter in
February 2006
| saying they no longer had records for that time period.
|
| So, basically Canada says I didn't file a flight plan and
I don't have
| any way of proving that I did. Anybody have any ideas on
how to
| dispute this or had a similar experience? (AOPA Legal was
no help.
| Their only suggestion was the FOIA request.)
|
| Thanks,
| Bob
|

"Chris" wrote in message
...
No a flight plan must be filed when crossing an international border.

Not always... Was flying back to Houston from SoCal a few years ago and
landing in El Paso for the night and and to refuel... I was routed well
across the border by ATC and asked them about it... They said that they
controlled the Mexican airspace, so it wouldn't be a problem... I have to
think that if I had needed to make an emergency landing while south of the
border, it defintely would have been a problem since Mexico tends to take a
dim view of us bringing firearms into their country... And, of course, since
I'm a Texan, I *always* have a gun or two in my plane...

"Grumman-581" wrote in message
...
"Chris" wrote in message
...
No a flight plan must be filed when crossing an international border.

Not always... Was flying back to Houston from SoCal a few years ago and
landing in El Paso for the night and and to refuel... I was routed well
across the border by ATC and asked them about it... They said that they
controlled the Mexican airspace, so it wouldn't be a problem... I have to
think that if I had needed to make an emergency landing while south of the
border, it defintely would have been a problem since Mexico tends to take
a
dim view of us bringing firearms into their country... And, of course,
since
I'm a Texan, I *always* have a gun or two in my plane...


I've flown from the Phoenix area to KELP a few times, each time with vectors
into "Mexican" airspace... however that airspace was still under control of
American FAA controlers. Now if i had proceeded INTO mexico then i would
get handed off to a Mex controler, and would probably need the DVFR flight
plan and all that good stuff. The big kicker is not in CROSSING a border
but LANDING across a border. Course everytime i went down I filed IFR, tho
the wx was severe clear (aside from the big brown cloud over Juarez, MX, i
thought PHX was bad!).