There are many more communication codes besides ‘mayday’ that pilots and cabin crew members use both on and off the ground while communicating with the ATC in flight operations.
One of the most searched words in days following the Ahmedabad Air India crash was ‘mayday’.’ The word was part of a distress call transmitted by one of the pilots on the plane to the air traffic controller (ATC), implying a life threatening emergency.
Pilots and cabin crew use a wide range of communication codes beyond just "MAYDAY" during flight operations, both in the air and on the ground, when interacting with air traffic control (ATC).
Here are some of the codes used with their meanings as listed in an ET report -
Mayday: The term is repeated three times to signal to ATC on the ground that the aircraft is facing some kind of life-threatening emergency and requires immediate assistance.
PAN-PAN: It is used by pilots when requesting assistance from ATC during an onboard emergency, though it doesn’t necessarily imply an immediate life-threatening situation.
GPWS: It refers toa cockpit alert which is used to warn the pilot of an imminent danger of collision with the ground or an object.
Arming the door: this signals activating the emergency escape slides so they deploy automatically when the door is opened during an emergency, facilitating faster passenger evacuation.
Disarming the door: it is used when deactivating the automatic deployment of emergency slides when the door is opened.
NOTAM: Stands for Notice to Airmen, an official alert from aviation authorities informing pilots and staff about temporary or urgent changes impacting flight safety or operations.
Go around: Also called a missed approach; occurs when an aircraft aborts its final landing attempt, climbs back, and either tries to land again or diverts to another airport.
Aborted or rejected take-off: When a take-off is stopped during the roll, bringing the aircraft to a complete halt on the runway.
V1: it is the takeoff decision speed, if once reached, the pilot must continue the takeoff. In case of an issue after V1, the aircraft must get airborne first before returning to land in an emergency.
V2: The speed at which the aircraft becomes airborne.
Runway incursion: Entry of an aircraft, vehicle, or person onto a designated runway area without clearance.
Runway excursion: When an aircraft veers off or overruns the runway surface.
CAT III: An instrument landing system (ILS) category that permits landings in very low visibility conditions (fog, rain, snow) with runway visual range (RVR) between 50 and 200 meters.
CAT II: A precision instrument approach allowing landings with a minimum RVR of 350 meters.
One of the most searched words in days following the Ahmedabad Air India crash was ‘mayday’.’ The word was part of a distress call transmitted by one of the pilots on the plane to the air traffic controller (ATC), implying a life threatening emergency.
Pilots and cabin crew use a wide range of communication codes beyond just "MAYDAY" during flight operations, both in the air and on the ground, when interacting with air traffic control (ATC).
Here are some of the codes used with their meanings as listed in an ET report -
Mayday: The term is repeated three times to signal to ATC on the ground that the aircraft is facing some kind of life-threatening emergency and requires immediate assistance.
PAN-PAN: It is used by pilots when requesting assistance from ATC during an onboard emergency, though it doesn’t necessarily imply an immediate life-threatening situation.
GPWS: It refers toa cockpit alert which is used to warn the pilot of an imminent danger of collision with the ground or an object.
Arming the door: this signals activating the emergency escape slides so they deploy automatically when the door is opened during an emergency, facilitating faster passenger evacuation.
Disarming the door: it is used when deactivating the automatic deployment of emergency slides when the door is opened.
NOTAM: Stands for Notice to Airmen, an official alert from aviation authorities informing pilots and staff about temporary or urgent changes impacting flight safety or operations.
Go around: Also called a missed approach; occurs when an aircraft aborts its final landing attempt, climbs back, and either tries to land again or diverts to another airport.
Aborted or rejected take-off: When a take-off is stopped during the roll, bringing the aircraft to a complete halt on the runway.
V1: it is the takeoff decision speed, if once reached, the pilot must continue the takeoff. In case of an issue after V1, the aircraft must get airborne first before returning to land in an emergency.
V2: The speed at which the aircraft becomes airborne.
Runway incursion: Entry of an aircraft, vehicle, or person onto a designated runway area without clearance.
Runway excursion: When an aircraft veers off or overruns the runway surface.
CAT III: An instrument landing system (ILS) category that permits landings in very low visibility conditions (fog, rain, snow) with runway visual range (RVR) between 50 and 200 meters.
CAT II: A precision instrument approach allowing landings with a minimum RVR of 350 meters.
