Originally Posted by
43Inches
Nothing wrong with what the crew did, but declaring a 'Mayday' is pretty sensational in the minds of the travelling public. No need to hype it much, considering it was a 'Mayday', and it did involve a 'low fuel state'. Only question is was Kalgoorlie or other a viable alternate available instead of a Mayday, or were they committed to Perth for some reason. That's something for what will be an inevitable investigation as I doubt the ATSB will drop this one. There's also the question about flying across a continent with bare minimums, which I assume they must have also used variables as well for some reason to get to that point, ie stronger headwinds, as arriving at Perth from Brisbane with just 40 mins is barely fixed reserve let alone all the other stuff. I am aware variables are there to be used, but it's a situation that is rarely an occurrence.
While I think that “mayday” for a low fuel state (as opposed to knowing that you will run out of the stuff) is mis-use of the term as it was originally intended, that is what the regulations required in this case. Unless the additional holding time was issued prior to passing PNR beyond Kalgoorlie, there is nothing to see here; move on….