Mayday or Pan

[airac]

According to the Mats pt one there is a substantial difference between the two, however in these days, where fear of litigation often out ways logic, how many units actually differentiate between the two types of messages.
Are we getting to the stage where ATCO's should automatically assume the worst and call a "full emergency" for every little problem thus rendering
" local standby" redundant. :confused:

[5milesbaby]

Don't forget that these terms don't necessarily give you what status to set the emergency services to, thats determined by what the actual problem is. If an a/c decides to declare a PAN at the same time one declares MAYDAY, then thats where the terms really come into their own. Yes the PAN will be given priority, but the MAYDAY will be always be given more.

[airac]

Don't forget that these terms don't necessarily give you what status to set the emergency services to, thats determined by what the actual problem is.
5milesbaby

Thats exactly my point what you put on is determined by the nature of the problem as reported by the pilot , not what is determined by management,who want a full emergency irrespective of the apparent seriousness of the problem.
If all incidents are to be treated the same why bother having two categories of emergency.i.e Mayday ( big problem):eek: Pan :uhoh: ( spot of bother old chap ,would appreciate you give me a degree of priority, but I should be OK)

[Say Again, Over!]

At least here in Canada, the PAN would be used more as a way of breaking in on a congested frequency than as a declaration of emergency.

In 16 years of ATC, I have NEVER heard a PAN call! A pilot will simply announce that he has an emergency, state the nature of it, then what response is required is based upon his statements.

A MAYDAY call is obviously different in that it implies that the aircraft is in dire need of immediate assistance.

To sum up, for example:

- Gear problem:
"We have an unsafe gear indication"
"Are you declaring an emergency?"
"Affirmative"

- In flight fire:
"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday!!!" and so on.

Cheers,

LX

[neilmac]

Its all about the C word......communication!! At my airport we had a harrier this week Mayday, in IMC ,engine fire caption(with smoke)! and ATC all worked well to get him down safely with c/b around 500ft. I have called a Pan when ive been sent away on solo x country many moons ago in northern Scotland with marginal weather and came very close to merging with Duncansby Head. Only a pilot can tell you his prob , how u interpret it is another question!! I know its a GA website but imagine yourself IMC with a serious emergency at 400kts or 90 kts!! Your workload high and your brain in oveload! He didnt eject(which his FRCs advised) simply because he couldnt see where the jet would crash. Lessons in GA world what we would I do faced with that prob? Im going up to fly unusual situations and practice emergencies! soz drifted from thread a bit!

[GT3]

I think both PAN and MAYDAY are still valid and should continue to be used.

Full Emergency/ Local Standby/ AGI/ AAI should be used when required by what the emergency is. Not what management think you should do.

Also some PAN calls don't require attendance from fire services.

[frostbite]

I actually heard a PAN x 3 call several years ago, from a USAF pilot. It was said so casually, almost as if he was ordering breakfast, that I wondered whether I had heard correctly.

It was not until the following day, when a brief report of a ditching in the N. Sea appeared, that the full import of what I heard became apparent.

Incidentally, where does 'PAN' come from?

[Spuds McKenzie]

where does 'PAN' come from

From "panne", which is french and means break-down.

MAYDAY is originally french as well ("m'aidez" = help me).

[LXGB]

Frostbite / Say Again,

Must be regional thing, never or rarely hearing "Pan".

I hear Pans and Practice Pans at least once a week in the UK. Mostly from military aircraft.

LXGB

[av8boy]

Pan never heard and Mayday very rarely heard throughout my long and illustrious career on this side of the pond in ATC. I'll second the "regional" thing.


Dave