Interesting comments here on how a pilot should declare an emergency and what ATC should do. Not willing to restart the old US vs the rest of the world debate, just to set the record straight, , this is what Controllers all around the world ( and I suspect the FAA nowadays as things have changed since the TWA era ) are being taught :
Pilots believing themselves to be facing an emergency situation should declare an emergency as soon as possible and cancel it later if the situation allows.
The correct method of communicating this information to ATC is by using the prefix “
MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY” or “
PAN PAN, PAN PAN, PAN PAN” as appropriate. This procedure, which is an international standard, is the single most effective means of alerting the controller to the need to give priority to the message that will follow.
In certain types of emergency the flight crew will don oxygen masks. The wearing of oxygen masks may make the voice messages more difficult to understand and increases the risk of a clearance being misunderstood and the risk of readback/hearback errors.
Controller response to emergency situation
The Operators Guide to Human Factors in Aviation Briefing Note Pilots-controllers communications -offers the following advice:
"Controllers should recognize that, when faced with an emergency situation, the flight crew’s most important needs are:
- Time;
- Airspace; and,
- Silence."
The briefing note continues: "The controller’s response to the emergency situation could be patterned after the
ASSIST memory aid...:
- Acknowledge - Ensure that the reported emergency is well-understood and acknowledged;
- Separate - Establish and maintain separation with other traffic and terrain;
- Silence - Impose silence on your control frequency, if necessary; and do not delay or disturb urgent cockpit action by unnecessary transmissions;
- Inform - Inform your supervisor and other sectors, units and airports as appropriate;
- Support - Provide maximum support to the flight crew; and,
- Time - Allow the flight crew sufficient time to manage the emergency."
After listening to the ( partial) R/T exchange published at the beginning of this thread I can conclude that the crew remained professional and provided all information required.
and the Controller understood the emergency and responded in a very adequate manner , provided all assistance required , especially in navigation , and the Pilots did a remarkable job in ditching a 737 in the dark and are still there to talk about it.
The only advantage of declaring Mayday 3x here would have been to silence the other traffic , a plus point in this situation especially since the controller was alone managing multiple frequencies , which is unfortunately becoming a standard during night in many places.