Nomenclature ...

[ExXB]

In the now closed Boris diversion thread in R&Ns it mentioned that the flight crew made an emergency landing.

To my way of thinking this was actually a precautionary landing rather than an emergency. Something wasn't working to spec and the pilots decided it was best to get the wheels on the ground at a place the malfunctioning bits could be repaired.

Of course the (non-tax paying) daily slime and it's ilk scream Emergency in 45 point headlines (omg I thought we were all going to die) and sell more papers and online advertisements from a fairly common non-event.

So why does this industry use a fairly dramatic term for the fairly non-dramatic mundane?

[DaveReidUK]

Boris's 146 landed at Luton squawking 7700. So technically it was an emergency.

[Hotel Tango]

My mother, bless her, would have called it a "slight" emergency. ATC would then have followed Slight Emergency procedures. :)

[DaveReidUK]

And presumably if it had happened to the Home Secretary rather than the Foreign Secretary, it would have been classed as a domestic emergency ...

[ExXB]

But does it make sense to have 'degrees of emergency'? Having a QF A380 SIN event categorised as being the same as a boris bomber hydraulic event just doesn't seem right.

[WHBM]

My mother, bless her, would have called it a "slight" emergency.
Mrs WHBM :) has spoken about "there has been a small catastrophe".

[PAXboy]

I love understatement. Reminds me of the quote from the First War. A division of the British Army had got themselves into a corner and needed help. They sent a message to the US Army to the effect: "We're in rather a tight corner" or words to that effect. The Americans read this and thought, "Doesn't sound too bad." And stayed where they were, to the detriment of the Brits.

By the Second War, they had agreed standard commands and information to avoid the Americans misunderstanding British understatement.