Try to think of other accidents and recall whether there were 'Mayday' calls that weren't a request for ATC services but were a simple announcement of the situation. I can think of a couple off the top of my head where no calls were made.
I can entirely relate to 'no Mayday call' from an emergency I had in a smaller plane with just a few passengers. The scenario is you have a crisis in the cockpit, you need to hustle and solve the situation that appears to have the upper hand over you. You really can spare no thoughts or movements that don't address the situation. You realize a Mayday call brings you no benefit whatsoever and the needs an desires of prospective listeners are their problem, a lack of understanding on their part becomes no concern to yourself.
Furthermore, we're all aware of how car-drivers get distracted when using their cell-phones. Spending too much time on the radio, splitting your mind cycles between flying and talking, will tend to reduce your critical emergency handling performance.
Last edited by ttcse; 5th Jun 2009 at 07:17.