Originally Posted by
421dog
It ain’t the other aircraft’s problem. ATC deals with it well over here on a single-tier basis. If an EMP event occurs, all of us are gonna be spouting PanPan or Mayday to no avail…
when the system goes down, the people over here have shown themselves to be remarkably resilient at not running into each other in dense airspace.
Of course it's the "other aircrafts problem". If I'm expecting to land at an airport and someone has just declared a MAYDAY I can at least expect my landing to be delayed, if not a diversion to an alternate. My situational awareness has just been greatly improved by knowing that there's an aircraft out there in trouble. I also know to shut up and await instructions.