Mark Hansen wrote in
news:Nr2dnRgnVOuoTpXVnZ2dnUVZ_t7inZ2d@surewest:

On 04/18/08 08:38, Michael Ash wrote:
In rec.aviation.student Andy Hawkins wrote:
The PAN actually sounds to me like a good idea, but as I always say
I'm still a lowly stude! Being able to differentiate between a
Mayday (basically aircraft in imminent danger) and PAN (something
that needs priority but nothing that will endanger the aircraft in
short order) seems like a good idea to me.

Given the rarity of emergency calls, it seems like the important
thing is to make the emergency known in a simple and easy fashion
first, then work out the details later on as they're needed. The
distinction is useful, but I think that it's not worth putting extra
workload on the pilot to figure out just what degree his emergency is
in his moment of crisis.


If the pilot is in a moment of crisis, then an emergency should be
declared. PAN is used when it is not at that level.



That's th epoint, Pan is no longer in the common lexicon. The guy I
quoted earlier risked his passeneger's life being a pedantic ****.


Bertie