Originally Posted by
moosepileit
You don't want to hold and dump for an hour as a mayday- that will get your company in trouble with the host nation- Downgrade to PAN when appropriate.
If I am single engine in a twin it's an emergency. If I need time to set up I will stay an emergency aircraft. If for whatever reason, like flight control issues I need an hour to figure it out, I will maintain emergency. ATC can figure out if they can get other aircraft around me, and I will definitely not care about the stern letter the host nation could send to my company. Emergency does not mean that everyone else is shut off and the airport is closed, it will just guarantee me priority when I might need it. Have had 2 full engine failures, 1 partial engine failure (2/3 with smoke in the cockpit), 1 low oil pressure, 2 alternate gear extensions, 1 total main brake failure and 2 cargo smoke indications. Declared emergency from start to finish every time, even for the engine failure followed by successful relight, and knowing the cargo fire indication was prone to false positives. Never have I seen that letter...