On the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) website under the heading “Most important things to improve you chance of survival, and to help search and rescuers are……..”
Point 3 states:
“In the event of an emergency, get out a MAYDAY or PAN call. If not operating on an ATS frequency, always have the area or overlying airspace frequency set for immediate use. This is the most responsive method to alert the search and rescue system”.
There is a very serious problem here, as in many cases, by following this instruction no one will hear your Mayday or Pan call.
As I’ve mentioned previously on this site, even calling on the “correct” area frequency of 124.8, 90 miles south east of Charleville at 8500ft, will result in no communication to Brisbane centre – or in many cases to another aircraft. However, by calling on the frequency of the nearest VHF outlet – that is St George on 118.95 - an immediate response will come from the Brisbane centre. If you are flying at a lower level, which is typical for VFR aircraft, the problem is even greater.
At typical helicopter flight levels of 1000ft or 2000ft in remote areas of Australia, I would estimate that over 80% of the time, there is no communication to a ground transmitter on the area frequency. This means you have to rely on another aircraft in the sector monitoring that frequency. In remote areas this is very often unlikely.
Of course, for those who want the maximum chance of getting a mayday call through to the nearest VHF outlet, they can use the “nearest” feature on most GPS units, and they will come up with the location of the closest VHF ground station. This will give the most likely result of getting a line of sight VHF signal. See photo attached.
In the United States the recommended frequency for radio equipped VFR aircraft in E and G airspace is 121.5.
From my experience in Australia, this is also the best frequency for a Pan or Mayday, as in 9 out of 10 occasions you will receive an immediate response from a high flying airline aircraft.
