british airways mayday goes over PA

[flarepilot]

according to morning news today, a british airways flight had smoke in the cockpit and the crew sent the mayday via PA to the pax instead of on the radio.

plane and everyone safe with emergency landing in Ireland.

oops

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Brilliant. Bet that had them rolling in the aisles.

[strake]

Whoops... :oh:

The Wail has details:

British Airways passengers heard pilot make Mayday call over the Atlantic at 36,000ft | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2508606/British-Airways-passengers-heard-pilot-make-Mayday-Atlantic-36-000ft.html)

[ShyTorque]

JaFQKnQ-PvU

[MCDU2]

That must be karma for all the guard police work over the years.

[Jwscud]

Do the workd's favourite airline not provide a hand mike solely for the PA?

Makes avoiding this sort of thing easy.

[Tray Surfer]

Jwscud

Yes. But the vast majority of PA's are done using the same headset as is used for radio coms, with a switch or button being pressed on the comms panel to select the PA function when required.

[PAXboy]

Gotta feel sorry for the folks up front. I saw the usual 'DM' type comments from some but - they are on the ground, safe and got carried to their destination. Some folks have to be reminded of how precarious life on this planet is.

The whingers have forgotten that if their core body temperature rises by some 7 degrees Celsius - they will die. And if they misjudge a turning in their car - they will die.

YES it must have been uncomfortable - but so is life.

[farci]

...coincidentally - similar story on Icelandair GLA-KEF the other day:
Jet returns to airport after engine fails | Herald Scotland (http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/transport/jet-returns-to-airport-after-engine-fails.22710232)
with the pilot broadcasting in error to the passengers!

[Jwscud]

In my mob the only time one would normally select PA on the ACP would be when giving the command to evacuate. All other PAs using the hand mike. Also avoids boring the ground frequency with your flight time and the name of the No 4!

[SloppyJoe]

Assume they were wearing their masks, if they had previously made a PA should they have taken their masks off and used the hand mic like you suggest?

If you are about to say well why did they make a PA prior to a mayday? Maybe they were going the right way, at the FL they wanted and had no restrictions on speed.

In my company we did it like this.... I would have done......Can avoid this by......

They are safe on the ground, who cares what you would have done!

[wiggy]

Do the workd's favourite airline not provide a hand mike solely for the PA?

In a word on the BA 777s - no, they do not have a dedicated "PA only" handmike (it may not even be a customer option.)

At the risk of teaching granny, etc, the hand mike (there is one), the headset boom mike and the oxygen mask mike all have their output "directed" by the MIC buttons on the Audio Control Panel...in other words you can talk on the R/T, or the Interphone, or the PA through any one of the three.... so get the selection wrong and we all know what happens....:uhoh:

The interphone handset on the centre pedestal does allow various PA options but to do that you have to faff around dialling the appropriate numbers which may not be the best/easiest option if you are wearing the oxygen mask.

[flarepilot]

many have written about a dedicated mic/handset for PA announcements and YES this device would have prevented the OOPS if properly used.


Someone mentioned that this would be difficult to use if on oxygen/masks.

We had an FAA approved technique for using the PA handset while on Oxygen Masks.

Simply USE the mask interphone/com which goes through the overhead speakers, make the announcement by holding the PA handset next to the overhead speaker and press the button(s) and talk.

Worked fine.

IF IT CAN HAPPEN, IT WILL HAPPEN...murphy's first law

[Jwscud]

Not having a pop at the crew at all - just wondering about how to avoid doing things like this again.

I only fly the 737 so didn't know what was available in that regard on the more modern widebodys.

[EEngr]

Google* for "Far Side intercom".;)

*Or Bing, if you must.