Out of the Fire - into the "Pan".
Flying with a First Officer who is studying for his French Maritime Captain's license. I had a look at his book - ISBN 2-11-088288-3, called Naviguer & Securite. . .. .Lo and behold it includes distress calls for ship's Captains. Rule 2.8.2.2 para 13 states (in French of course) that in an "Urgent" situation the Captain should send three times the word "Pan". So at least as far as their sailors go, the French are very well familiar with the word Pan. They also have the word "Securite" for less serious problem conditions as well as "Mayday" for emergencies.. .. .Perhaps one of our French colleagues could confirm whether this is still the case in aviation.