Pan-pan

A call of pan-pan means there is an emergency on board a boat, ship, aircraft or other vehicle but that, for the time being at least, there is no immediate danger to anyone's life or to the vessel itself. This is referred to as a state of urgency. This is distinct from a Mayday call, which means that there is imminent danger to life or to the continued viability of the vessel itself. Thus 'pan-pan' will inform potential rescuers (including emergency services and other craft in the area) that a safety problem exists whereas 'mayday' will call upon them to drop all other activities and immediately instigate a rescue attempt.

Derivation
See the list of French phrases used by English speakers. The French word "panne" nominally refers to a mechanical failure or breakdown of any kind.

PAN is also widely accepted as a three-letter acronym - "Possible Assistance Needed". It was used and indeed may still be used on various maritime and aeronautical radio communications courses as an aide memoir to radio/communications operators, specifically to reaffirm the important difference between MAYDAY and PAN emergency communications.

Usage
The correct usage is "Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan", followed by the intended recipient of the message, either "All Stations, All Stations, All Stations" or a specific station, "Vancouver Coast Guard Radio, Vancouver Coast Guard Radio, Vancouver Coast Guard Radio", the identification of the craft, its position, the nature of the problem and the type of assistance or advice required, if any. An equivalent Morse code signal used to be X X X, with each letter sent distinctly.

Nautical examples
Examples of the correct use of a simple 'pan-pan' call from a boat or ship may include the following cases, provided the skipper or master remains confident that they can handle the situation and that there is no current danger to the life of any person or to the safety of the vessel itself. Protocol indicates that there is at least a three minute radio silence period at the top and bottom of the hour to keep airwaves clear for Pan-Pan calls. For example; silence from 0600-0603hrs, and 0630-0633hrs.


 * Fouled propeller, engine failure or out of fuel: Provided the vessel is now either anchored or under sail and safe from any immediate danger of collision or stranding. The crew may be planning to clear the propeller, refuel from an onboard supply, hoist sail or use some other alternative propulsion. Alternatively, as part of the 'pan-pan' call the skipper may request a tow from a suitable vessel, if possible, but without immediate urgency.
 * Small fire on board - now extinguished: Fire can be very dangerous afloat but if it was small and contained and is now certainly put out without injury to any crew, then a 'pan-pan' call is appropriate to warn others that investigations are underway to establish the extent of the damage, clear the smoke from below and hopefully re-establish passage as soon as possible.
 * Unsure of position: Provided there is no apparent danger of stranding or hitting rocks, a 'pan-pan' call on marine VHF radio may allow nearby coast-stations and perhaps other vessels to triangulate the source of the transmissions and provide the skipper with both a fix and perhaps some advice on the best compass-course to steer to reach a safe haven.

Marine Rescue Organisations, such as Coastal Patrol, Coast Guard & Search and Rescue listen on Marine Radio Frequencies for such distress calls as PAN PAN. If a PAN PAN is heard, the rescue organisation can attempt to assist or relay the PAN PAN to another station who may be closer to the craft in need.

Aeronautical examples
The call was used during the urgent emergency landing requests sent as a result of the electrical fire which was to destroy Swissair Flight 111.

Pan-pan medico
An alternative to the normal use of 'pan-pan' is to call "Pan-pan medico, pan-pan medico, pan-pan medico" followed by the identification of the craft, its position and the nature of a medical problem suffered by one of the passengers or crew. This type of call is specifically used in order to get a doctor's advice for a medical problem that does not, in the current opinion of the skipper or master of the vessel, seem to be life-threatening.

Once patched through to a medical expert either on land or in another vessel, the radio operator will most likely be asked to describe some detail of the symptoms and history of the condition and perhaps some medical history of the casualty too. The doctor will, most likely, be able to recommend first aid treatment and give other advice to make the patient more comfortable, using whatever resources are available on board. In some cases a decision may be made that the medical case is more urgent than the skipper assumed, and so the call will be escalated to a 'mayday' and receive immediate intervention by rescuers, if at all possible.