In aviation, ‘Mayday’ and ‘PAN PAN PAN’ are officially designated worldwide radio calls made by pilots to warn air traffic controllers (ATC) of distress—but these emergencies are different
‘Mayday’ indicates a serious, life-threatening emergency. Calling Mayday signifies that the aircraft and its crew are in life-threatening danger and need immediate help. Some typical situations include critical mechanical malfunctions, engines on fire, unexpected loss of control, or medical emergencies such as cardiac arrest.
On June 12, 2025, a ‘Mayday’ call was initiated by the crew, pilot Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Captain Clive Kunder, indicating an urgent emergency. On Air India AI171, the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was deployed; however, it was insufficient to manage the situation, and subsequently, the altitude decreased, resulting in a plane crash.
PAN PAN PAN (said as ‘Pahn-Pahn’) signals a serious but non-life-threatening situation immediately. It's called for problems that need immediate attention—like a technical problem, precautionary shutdown of an engine, a non-emergency medical problem, or meteorological diversions—but aren't immediately life-threatening or to the aircraft.
On 16 July, 2025, on an Indigo Delhi-Goa flight, the pilot made a "PAN PAN PAN" call to ATC following an engine-related issue in mid-air. Though the engine failure was severe and necessitated a diversion to Mumbai Airport immediately, it didn't risk passengers' lives immediately.
Thus, "PAN PAN PAN" was called out, not "Mayday." 191 people on board were safely landed, further establishing how such procedures save lives by reporting the right measure of urgency.
Conversely, past aviation disasters—such as the Air India crash—generally involved employing "Mayday" calls. If a plane is in immediate danger of crashing, for example, due to catastrophic mechanical failure or loss of control, Mayday is employed to initiate the fastest and most complete possible emergency response by ATC and rescue forces.
Significance
Effective communication is a matter of life and death. Proper use of the correct distress call guarantees optimum use of resources: ‘Mayday’ for immediate, life-saving assistance and ‘PAN PAN PAN’ for priority but non-life-threatening situations.
Wrong usage creates confusion, either overreacting to minor incidents or underreacting in real emergencies.
The recent IndiGo engine failure and previous air crashes illustrate why knowing ‘PAN PAN PAN’ vs ‘Mayday’ is not technically a matter, but an integral piece of aviation safety, one that gets the right message across quickly in the air.
