Department of Homeland Security
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection

The Public Comment Period has expired.  However,  it is never too late to ask your State's Congressional Member to tell the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Department that
Gas and Hot Air Balloons ["aircraft" ] should be excluded from this unnecessary, unreasonable and impractical  set of rules.

  
I propose that flights of hot air balloons that arrive in the USA from foreign locations or depart from the USA to foreign locations be excluded from the Proposed Rule changes to 19 CFR Part 122 - Air Commerce Regulations [ USCBP - 2007 - 0064 ] because:

1.  Flights of hot air balloons arriving in the USA from foreign locations and departing from the USA to foreign locations are very rare;

2.  Persons who might represent a threat to the USA homeland security are not likely to chose flights in a hot air balloon to accomplish their task [ ballooning is Not the Choice Mode of Transportation to go from one designated location to another];

3.  To require balloon pilots to submit the required manifest data would create excessive impact on the Customs and Border Protection Department personnel and systems;

4.  Hot air balloon Trans-Border  flights most often do not arrive or depart the USA from airports;  therefore, enforcement of the proposed rule would be impractical if not impossible;

5.  The number of passengers that might be transported across the USA borders in a hot air balloon is insignificant; and,

6.  A program to educate Trans-Border hot air balloon pilots to be more cognizant of screening passengers would be a more cost-effective way to minimize the possible risks to homeland security.

Gary Eaton