PPRuNe Forums - Pan Mayday

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The rules are essentially same whether FAA or ICAO.

Quote:

FAA Order 7110.65V Air Traffic Control

2−1−4. OPERATIONAL PRIORITY

Provide air traffic control service to aircraft on a “first come, first served” basis as circumstances permit, except the following:

a. An aircraft in distress has the right of way over all other air traffic. 14 CFR Section 91.113(c).

b. Provide priority to civilian air ambulance flights (call sign “MEDEVAC”). Use of the MEDEVAC call sign indicates that operational priority is requested. When verbally requested, provide priority to AIR EVAC, HOSP, and scheduled air carrier/air taxi flights. Assist the pilots of MEDEVAC, AIR EVAC, and HOSP aircraft to avoid areas of significant weather and turbulent conditions. When requested by a pilot, provide notifications to expedite ground handling of patients, vital organs, or urgently needed medical materials.

NOTE−
It is recognized that heavy traffic flow may affect the controller’s ability to provide priority handling. However, without compromising safety, good judgment must be used in each situation to facilitate the most expeditious movement of a MEDEVAC aircraft.

c. Provide maximum assistance to SAR aircraft performing a SAR mission. ...

You seem to view things in black & white and think that just because you used the word "MAYDAY" on a passenger medical emergency, that gives you the right to ignore ATC instructions, bust clearances, deviate your flightpath, and do whatever you want.

Sorry, but doing so would be exceeding your authority as PIC, putting others at risk, and might even delay care for the passenger in distress.

Not all emergencies are equal. Consider:

- Aircraft A calls ATC with "MAYDAY, passenger medical emergency, request immediate diversion to Cairo"

- Aircraft B also calls ATC with "MAYDAY, fire on board, losing power on both engines, request immediate diversion to Cairo"

By law, which aircraft has priority? Which pilot may deviate from ATC clearances?

PIC authority to deviate under emergencies are limited by statutes only "to the extent required to meet that emergency".

The pilot of Aircraft B would be well within his rights immediately "turn inbound Cairo VOR" and do whatever it takes to get his aircraft safely on the ground, ATC clearances be damned.

But the pilot of Aircraft A would NOT have the same right to also bust clearances, turn into the Cairo VOR, and do "whatever" to land at Cairo without permission. Such actions would be out of the norm for an in flight medical emergency, and might be considered well in excess of what is required given the nature of the emergency.

Your text you are quoting is dealing with ambulance flight... i.e. flights where the passenger was ill and a risk is being taken transporting him or her from the start of the flight. The text you are quoting is just saying that such flights are being giver higher priority than regular flights. These flights are not in distress per se and equipped/staffed to handle the patient during flight.

An in-flight medical emergency, where a healthy passenger boarded the flight, but is experiencing medial problem during the flight is, however, an emergency.

Quote:

ICAO Annex 2 Rules of the air:
3.6.2 Adherence to flight plan
3.6.2.1 Except as provided for in 3.6.2.2 and 3.6.2.4, an aircraft shall adhere to the current flight plan or the applicable portion of a current flight plan submitted for a controlled flight unless a request for a change has been made and clearance obtained from the appropriate air traffic control unit, or unless an emergency situation arises which necessitates immediate action by the aircraft, in which event as soon as circumstances permit, after such emergency authority is exercised, the appropriate air traffic services unit shall be notified of the action taken and that this action has been taken under emergency authority.

The potential death of another human being, in my opinion, warrants deviating from my clearance.

I can accept to land as no 2, behind the guys with the cabin fire, as the death of more human beings is worse than the death of one. But I am not waiting for the controller to do his routing radio transmissions. I guess we are going to have to agree to disagree on that. My passenger hopefully lives to see another day. Yours? :)

P.s.
MAYDAY is according to my OM-A mandatory in case of a medical emergency. Of course the PIC deems when it's a medical incident and when it's a full blown emergency. A precautionary diversion, like the Austrian example above, is in my opinion definitely an emergency.

Quote:

You text you are quoting is dealing with ambulance flight... i.e. flights where the passenger was ill and a risk is being taken transporting him or her from the start of the flight.

No, read the part underlined in that section. It covers dealing with verbal requests (i.e., in air) from scheduled air carriers.

Quote:

No, read the part underlined in that section. It covers dealing with verbal (i.e., in air) requests from scheduled air carriers.

"scheduled air carriers" doing what?? ;)

Carrying a patient? Like a stretcher? Yes, turbulence is probably nasty for the guy with the broken leg, being transported home from skiing holiday. It would probably be great to get priority for the level where no turbulence was reported.

But it doesn't mention scheduled air carriers having an in-flight medical emergency.

Anyway, it's still just a local FAA document. Irrelevant to the rest of the world, no matter how it is interpreted.

WHAT A LOAD!

PILOT DECLARES EMERGENCY or uses word MAYDAY (3). PILOT may deviate from all rules as needed to take care of emergency.

ONCE upon the ground, he may have to explain things.

IF you have a passenger who is in medical need (not something like, oops, my finger nail broke on this can of soda) declare an emergency and get to where YOU decide ( you can consult with others)>

I declared a MEDICAL emergency, requested and rec'd vectors direct to airport and was made number one on the apch and for landing and had medical help waiting.

Granted if another plane had been overhead the airport with all engines out, we could easily have gone to another of the 4 runways. BUT IF AIR FORCE ONE was in our way, they would have gotten OUT of the way.

Some people are so into the regulations that they don't use common sense.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Captain, a little boy is dying and the doctor who happens to be on board says we must get him to a hospital ASAP.

CAPTAIN: Oh, tell the doctor and the little boy's parents that their situation does not qualify for a full blown emergency according to BITE MY SHORTS REGULATION .

shave and a haircut, six bits.