Mayday!

[wanttaja]

Seeing as how it's May First, some of my non-flying friends want to shout "Mayday" at me.

I always counter with the history of the term (as it is used in aviation), merely from the French term for "Help me."

Now: Where does "Pan" come from?

Ron "Not Neverland" Wanttaja

 

[Lycosaurus]

"Panne", the french word for (engine) failure/breakdown. Can be generic failure such as electrical, mechanical etc.

 

[Sac Arrow]

"Pan pan!" Not necessarily an emergency, but it does mean that the grill is out of propane.

 

[dbahn]

It may be myth, but I've read it's French for m'aidez or "help me".

If Panne also comes from the French, it seems plausible.

 

[ArrowFlyer86]

As an ignorant savage who knows little about etymology, I always just figured "Pan" radio call in flying came from the long list of aviation mishaps from Pan Am airlines

 

[asicer]

Where does "Pan" come from?

"Pan" in Spanish means "bread", as in "this is going to cost me a lot of dough".

The French pronounce it somewhat the same (semi silent "n") but spell it "pain", which should be self explanatory.

 

[Vance Breese]

I was taught that PAN PAN PAN was to communicate possible assistance needed

 

[Lycosaurus]

I was taught that PAN PAN PAN was to communicate possible assistance needed

Once in my travels through the USofA I had an alternator failure which depleted my battery (I had not noticed the warning signs, no low voltage indicator... since rectified). We were on flight following when the panel started flickering on and off. Shut down non essentials and communicated to ATC a PanPanPan saying I would be without electrcial power imminently. They gave me a phone number to contact once I was on the ground.

The Pan alert was recorded as an emergency, no different than a Mayday. The Pan alert is just to prioritize ATC's help or attention, and Mayday (life threatening) would suggest a higher priority if there was one from another aircraft at the same time.

 

[JOhnH]

I was taught that PAN PAN PAN was to communicate possible assistance needed

Not sure if that is what it technically means, but I have heard that correct phraseology is PAN PAN PAN.

 

[Sluggo63]

Not sure if that is what it technically means, but I have heard that correct phraseology is PAN PAN PAN.

“Pan-pan” is one word, just like “mayday,” and just like “mayday,” it is repeated three times. So it is correctly used as “pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan.”

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

So it is correctly used as “pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan.”

That's a lot of pizza.

 

[Zeldman]

A friend of mine named his dog Mayday...

Wait for it...

Because as a puppy it had a lot of little ''accidents''...

 

[DaleB]

“Pan-pan” is one word, just like “mayday,” and just like “mayday,” it is repeated three times. So it is correctly used as “pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan.”

Sheldon Cooper would approve.