For a domestic operator, the United States provides one of the largest contiguous airspaces in the world governed by common rules and procedures. However, the comfort domestic flying confers can set up the unwary for a major problem when oceans are crossed and a different regard for International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and recommended practices is encountered.
I’m sure the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) seriously considers everything that comes out of ICAO. However, it has fewer reasons for quickly adopting all of it. The size of the American aviation industry alone is a major impediment to change. It is difficult to justify major changes in how things are done when the affected community is so insular, large and vocal, and there are no urgent problems to correct.
But some nations, especially in Europe, are getting quite comfortable exercising regulatory authority over aircraft registered in other lands but wishing to land in or even transit th…
