Originally Posted by
safetypee
Perhaps others could relate their experiences in the actuality of surprising, unexpected situations where most mental resource is being applied to managing the immediate and subsequent situation.
I agree with you that all bets are off during and shortly after a totally unexpected situation. Sooner or later though, hopefully, training will kick in in some form. And the proper declaration of an emergency is often part of that training. Sometimes the mayday is an explicit part of the memory items, sometimes ECAM will remind us and sometimes, like in the engine failure case, it is somewhat left up to our discretion.
But I agree with your important point, real life drama will be different than the sim scenarios we practice. The way our brain and body reacts will surprise us in ways the sim cannot replicate. Hopefully thought and discussion beforehand, like on PPRuNe will be of some benefit later on.
An interesting yet typical example is given in the post above where a pilot kind of asks for some emergency service cover, but the controller, quite understandably demands the clarity that specific procedures give: are you declaring an emergency or not? I’ve seen the opposite happen where we, rather vaguely I admit, just wanted an inspection after landing. No PAN was declared, yet to our surprise we were met with the whole RFF capacity of the airfield. In both cases the controller procedurally did not take half measures. With hindsight, a PAN would have been the correct call that day. Lesson learned.