(a) Place of landing. Aircraft carrying passengers or crew required to be inspected under the Act must land at the international air ports of entry enumerated in part 100 of this chapter unless permission to land elsewhere is first obtained from the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in the case of aircraft operated by scheduled airlines, and in all other cases from the port director of CBP or other CBP officer having jurisdiction over the CBP port of entry nearest the intended place of landing.

(b) Advance notice of arrival. Aircraft carrying passengers or crew required to be inspected under the Immigration and Nationality Act, except aircraft of a scheduled airline arriving in accordance with the regular schedule filed with the Service at the place of landing, shall furnish notice of the intended flight to the immigration officer at or nearest the intended place of landing, or shall furnish similar notice to the district director of Customs or other Customs officer in charge at such place. Such notice shall specify the type of aircraft, the registration marks thereon, the name of the aircraft commander, the place of last departure, the airport of entry, or other place at which landing has been authorized, number of alien passengers, number of citizen passengers, and the estimated time of arrival. The notice shall be sent in sufficient time to enable the officers designated to inspect the aircraft to reach the airport of entry or such other place of landing prior to the arrival of the aircraft.

(c) Permission to discharge or depart. Aircraft carrying passengers or crew required to be inspected under the Immigration and Nationality Act shall not discharge or permit to depart any passenger or crewman without permission from an immigration officer.

(d) Emergency or forced landing. Should any aircraft carrying passengers or crew required to be inspected under the Immigration and Nationality Act make a forced landing in the United States, the commanding officer or person in command shall not allow any passenger or crewman thereon to depart from the landing place without permission of an immigration officer, unless such departure is necessary for purposes of safety or the preservation of life or property. As soon as practicable, the commanding officer or person in command, or the owner of the aircraft, shall communicate with the nearest immigration officer and make a full report of the circumstances of the flight and of the emergency or forced landing.

[22 FR 9795, Dec. 6, 1957, as amended at 32 FR 9631, July 4, 1967; 45 FR 29243, May 1, 1980; 49 FR 50019, Dec. 26, 1984; 54 FR 102, Jan. 4, 1989; 54 FR 1050, Jan. 11, 1989; 65 FR 58903, Oct. 3, 2000; 76 FR 5060, Jan. 28, 2011; 81 FR 14953, Mar. 21, 2016]