RADIO PROCEDURES

Before you key your mike, gather your thoughts about what you are going to say. Many people with radios have a tendency to talk and/or repeat too much. Say what you need to say without unnecessary repeats. Keep in mind that you must strive to get your message through the first time.

Practicing proper day-to-day radio procedures will make emergency radio procedures automatic and reduces confusion. Another way of saying this is that the secret to working quickly and efficiently in an emergency is to use common approved radio communication procedures and guidelines and practice, practice, practice.

1st, you MUST give the radio callsign of the station you are calling. This alerts that station that they are being called and that they should listen to determine who is calling.

2nd; say "THIS IS". The called station knows your tactical call follows. This is extremely important in cases where there is a lot of confusion or poor signal conditions.

3rd, give your radio callsign. Don't give your first name. Radio callsigns are important and first names are not, egos notwithstanding. Remember, we are licensed for radio to radio NOT person to person communications. You WILL create confusion if you reverse the first three steps, especially during emergencies and when you are communicating with a dispatcher or people who do not know you. If your practice is the reverse of the "norm", you will not be able to change "on the fly" especially during the added stress brought on by an emergency situation.

4th, give your message. Speak clearly. Don't speak too fast especially if the message needs to be written down. Pause after logical phrases. Do not use the word "break" when you pause. It is confusing, wastes time and has other connotations. Merely unkey and pause. If the other station has questions, they should key up and make their request known. This also permits other stations to break in if they have emergency traffic.

5th, you can end your conversation with “CLEAR” however it isn’t required.

What is Considered to be an Emergency?

It is impossible to cover all the possibilities here. The declaration of an emergency by the pilot in command is an area for your operational judgment. Emergencies can be classified according to the urgency and to the degree of seriousness of the consequences.

You decide, but always err on the safe side. Some categories might be:

No urgency of time but need assistance, such as being uncertain of position and unable to confirm direction to proceed but with plenty of fuel and remaining daylight;
Some urgency of time, such as uncertain of position with fuel reserves or remaining daylight less than an hour or so;
Some urgency and potential for serious consequences, such as loss of oil pressure, rough-running engine or fuel depletion that may leave insufficient fuel to reach an airfield;
Potential seriousness but not yet developed, such as some doubt about the serviceability of the aircraft or systems, or the medical condition of the pilot;
Potential seriousness but no urgency, such as loss of primary attitude indicator with eight oktas of cloud but plenty of fuel and daylight; and
Potential catastrophe and urgency, such as risk of loss of control due to reduced visibility or daylight or risk of controlled flight into terrain due to rising ground and lowering cloud base.

It is impossible to set hard-and-fast rules. If in doubt, tell someone what the potential problem is and do it earlier rather than later, when there is still plenty of time, fuel and daylight. If there is any urgency, formally declare an emergency, at least a pan-pan. If there is any risk of loss of control or injury, declare a mayday.

Declaring an Emergency
If an emergency arises, it is your responsibility as pilot in command to assess just how serious the emergency is (or could be) and to take appropriate safety action. Many emergencies require your immediate attention and occupy you fully for some moments, but it is advisable at the first opportune moment to tell someone. There are three degrees of emergency and, as pilot in command, you should preface your radio call with either:

Sécurité (repeated three times) for a safety call.
Pan-pan (repeated three times) for an urgency call. No distress
Mayday (repeated three times) for a distress call.

Safety Message (or Security Call)
There are few occasions when it would be necessary to transmit a security call. It is nonetheless useful to know of the existence of this type of message in the event that it becomes necessary to transmit one.

Urgency Message (or Pan-Pan Call)
The urgency or pan-pan message is made over the frequency in use when an emergency exists that does not require immediate assistance. Typical situations when a pan pan message is appropriate include the following:

Experiencing navigational difficulties that require the assistance of ATC or flight service;
Carrying a passenger on board that has become seriously ill and requires urgent attention;
Seeing another airplane or a ship whose safety is threatened and urgent action is perhaps needed; and
Making an emergency change of level in controlled airspace that may conflict with traffic below.

Distress Message (or Mayday Call)
Distress is the absolute top priority call. It has priority over all others, and the word mayday should force everyone else into immediate radio silence. Mayday is the anglicized spelling of the French phrase m’aidez! which means help me! When you require immediate assistance and are being threatened by grave and immediate danger, the following applies:

The mayday distress message should be transmitted over the air-ground frequency you are presently using;
If you are currently using a UNICOM or tower frequency and receive no response to your distress call, and if you have time, repeat the call on the area frequency as shown on the sectional chart;
If still no response, and if time permits, change frequency to 121.5 MHz (the international emergency frequency usually monitored by airliners and some ground stations) and repeat your distress call; and
If your aircraft is transponder-equipped, squawk code 7700 (the emergency and urgency transponder code) which, if you are in a radar environment, causes a special symbol to appear around your aircraft on the ATC radar screen and rings an alarm bell immediately alerting the ATC radar controllers.

Emergency calls

SÉCURITÉ x 3

Sécurité (/seɪˈkjʊərɪteɪ/; French: sécurité) (often repeated thrice, "Sécurité, sécurité, sécurité") is a procedure word used in Marine VHF radio that warns the crew that the following message is important safety information.

PAN PAN x 3

The radiotelephony message PAN-PAN is the international standard urgency signal that someone aboard a boat, ship, aircraft, or other vehicle uses to declare that they have a situation that is urgent, but for the time being, does not pose an immediate danger to anyone's life

MAYDAY x 3

Mayday is the word used around the world to make a distress call via radio communications. Mayday signals a life-threatening emergency, usually on a ship or a plane, although it may be used in a variety of other situations.

MAYDAY RELAY x 3

If the vessel or person has no means of transmitting a distress you can transmit on their behalf immediate ie. a person stranded by the tide or if you see a set of distress flares.

SILENCE MAYDAY x 3

SEELONCE MAYDAY Is the international expression to inform an individual(s) that a distress situation is in progress. ... The station in distress, or the station in control, shall use the expression "STOP TRANSMITTING - DISTRESS" or the international expression "SILENCE MAYDAY" or "SEELONCE MAYDAY"

SEELONCE FEENEE x 3

SEELONCE FEENEE Is the international expression for a distress cancellation. ... SEELONCE FEENEE An international expression to indicate that the distress situation has ended