Originally Posted by
Laker
It’s a USA thing. For some reason pilots in the states are initially taught to “declare an emergency” with ATC instead of using the mayday mayday or Pan Pan phraseology. Most have to be taught the correct ICAO way once they start flying internationally.
The FAA removed “declaring an emergency” from the AIM a few years ago but old habits are hard to break. The idea of communications is to get a thought or message to another person. “Mayday Mayday Mayday” means you are declaring an emergency. Saying “we are declaring an emergency” to a FAA air traffic controller who is required to be fluent in English would also get the thought across that they are declaring an emergency.