Say Again, Over!

Great study with implications in ATC as well.

Vsplat, Interesting comment! We are trained and obligated to pass traffic information based on where the airplane is at. In fact, if no overlap of the targets will happen or if we operate at more that what is required for wake-turbulence separation, we don't have to give traffic info. I agree that the latest incidents indicate that a review of the criteria might be wise.

As a devout, church-going, Bible reading Christian, I find the justification for the spending of so much money ridiculous and offensive. I'm no fan of Copeland, Duplantis and other preachers of the prosperity gospel. They drag the name of Jesus-Christ in the mud! I have no sympathy for their financial "struggles" and I'm quite disgusted by their extortion of so much money from people who are indeed looking for a true friend. Kip, having "known" you all these years, I know better than to take offence. But... my friend is real!

Interesting that the compressor disk seems intact... did the front just fall off?

Mind you, back then, men put a suit on every time they went out in public, whether it was to go to the general store or to church unless it was for work, in which case they had on their "work" clothes. So it's not unreasonable to expect them to wear a suit in an airplane. Flying wasn't the reason for being snappily dressed, is what I'm saying.

We very seldom hear PAN PAN or MAYDAY but they sure get our attention! As far as how they are treated, there are three levels we recognize although only two are official. - The first will be a crew advising us they are declaring an emergency and will require the equipment. This is usually what happens in Canadian airspace and carries the same meaning as PAN PAN although the degree of response will vary depending on the crews requests. A flap problem or a landing gear issue would definitely be considered critical but not in terms of urgency to get on the ground. - The more formal PAN PAN although having the same meaning will probably be treated with more formality initially even though the issue might be the same. We don't hear it often and it means to us, rightly or wrongly, that it's a little more urgent. I suppose it has to do with the formality of using the words (a sort of STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND LISTEN TO THIS) that grabs our attention. THE MEANING, however, is the same to us as declaring an emergency in plain language. If you're not sure you're being treated as such, confirm in plain language or use the formal PAN PAN. - If I hear MAYDAY, you have my undivided attention. The meaning to us is that you life is in danger RIGHT NOW! We will act accordingly. So we do apply a certain nuance depending on how the emergency is communicated to us. In the end, though, apart from being attention grabbers, the words only mean so much. Regardless of the one you chose to use, the rest of the message will tell us how to act. If you tell me your engine is on fire, you don't have to say MAYDAY. On the other side, I remember a story of BA unable to lock the gear UP and wanting to return to LHR. Upon being told he had to go to his alternate as this was not a critical emergency, he called MAYDAY.... (I wish I could say he was denied but alas). Felix