This whole thread is just a giant "so what".
Nothing much happened, obviously, as it didn't make the news.
ATC and pilots operated according to SOPs, as they are trained to do. Why is anyone surprised about that?
Definitions of PAN and MAYDAY are freely available on the web, so no debate there. It's really very simple:
1.2 States of Emergency
1.2.1 The states of emergency are classified as follows:
a) Distress A condition of being threatened by serious and/or imminent danger and
of requiring immediate assistance.
b) Urgency A condition concerning the safety of an aircraft or other vehicle, or of
some person on board or within sight, but does not require immediate assistance.
1.2.2 The pilot should make the appropriate emergency call as follows:
a) Distress ‘MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY’
b) Urgency ‘PAN PAN, PAN PAN, PAN PAN’
(
http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/CAP413.PDF)
Just parse the above according to your company SOPs...