From a Telegraph article about fuel emergencies:

"There are two classifications of emergency landing. A “PAN” – standing for Procedure for Air Navigation Service – is a request for priority over other aircraft."

Tosh! 'PAN' was the maritime radiotelephony safety signal in the days when aircraft didn't have radiotelephony!

I did know the French word from which it is derived, but have forgotten it.

The French word panne nominally refers to a mechanical failure or breakdown of any kind.

From Wiki, sounds about right?

UFO

"'SOS,' 'CQD' and the History of Maritime Distress Calls" (http://www.telegraph-office.com/pages/arc2-2.html)

Ah, so as well as Mayday ( M'aidez - help me ) the French have another emergency word.

And the other emergency word - rendirse!

The real emergency word in French is "Merde!"

...and the response is always ... surrender!

"Encore du vin, meine Herren?"

From Wiki, sounds about right?




In this case Wiki is right! Loads of words in aviation have a French origin.

Mind you, as George Dubya once said, the French have no word for entrepreneur.

I can't speak French, but they've got a certain I don't know what.......

And the other emergency word - rendirse!

Spanish maybe, but not French.

What about the Frightfully British way of declaring an emergency

"I say old chap. We appear to be in a spot of bother. One's motor has given up the ghost, and there is a hole in the wing big enough to fit one's manservant through. At this rate, we are going to end up in the briney old bean"

Which neatly links us to the "difference between UK and Americian pilots" thread.:E

ORAC - what a great site your fascinating link is from.

Sadly I see it has not been updated since 2004 and I fear the author may have sent his last CQD.....:(

The real emergency word in French is "Merde!"
Prefer "Phoque!" myself.

I did know the French word from which it is derived, but have forgotten it. - 'tis PANNE which is 'breakdown' (not mental). The third (lowest) emergency call being 'SECURITE' which is broadly speaking 'safety'.

The real emergency word in French is "Merde!"

I thought it was "Courons!"

In the maritime world (or it was when I got my marine licence) PAN is 'urgency' and 'securite'(SAY-CURE-IT-AY) is used for navigational warnings and the like. As in (on 2182 kHz, immediately after the silence period) 'Securite, securite, all ships, all ships, Scheveningen Radio, Scheveningen Radio. Gale warning follows on 1890 kilohertz'.

Not sure where you would use 'securite' in aviation. Maybe a loose balloon?

orac
many thanks for that link, just spent a couple of hours wandering round the telegraph office!

gs

Telegraph clearly has PAN confused with PANS as in PANS-OPS, for which it did have the correct acronym.

Maybe any journo writing on an aviation subject should be mandated, as a minimum, to have a PPL, and preferably a CPL IR.

When they get so much wrong on aviation, how much do they get wrong on other subjects?

Not sure where you would use 'securite' in aviation. Maybe a loose balloon?

When heading for a school not full of children.

Which neatly links us to the "difference between UK and Americian pilots" thread
Wouldn't say that, "Houston we've had a problem" sounds a British enough way to declare an emergency to me!

Maybe any journo writing on an aviation subject should be mandated, as a minimum, to have a PPL, and preferably a CPL IR.


Just as soon as any pilot commenting on journalism has, as a minimum, a couple of years doing investigative reporting and the ability to spell.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Stop reading the rags, and start reading a specialist publication. You might learn something. :rolleyes:

If the rags aren't read, they won't be sold. But not every specialist journal carries news that isn't weeks or months old.

It's not only aviation that they get wrong. Some years back, the Independent had a story about railways: it claimed that the Great Central railway would have been ideal to keep for traffic from the Channel Tunnel 'because it was built to the broad gauge by Brunel'.

Bloody good going for a chap who had been in his grave for 40 years when the GC was opened!

It's only going to get worse - more and more morons joining the journalistic way of life, and regurgitating the 1st hit they get on Google that seems to fit...

When they get so much wrong on aviation, how much do they get wrong on other subjects?
plenty. At least on everything one happens to know something about.

Guess you are right, probes.