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Pan-pan
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 need help and that the situation is urgent, but for the time being, does not pose an 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 (distress signal), which means that there is imminent danger to life or to the continued viability of the vessel itself. Radioing "pan-pan" informs potential rescuers (including emergency services and other craft in the area) that an urgent problem exists, whereas "mayday" calls on them to drop all other activities and immediately begin a rescue.
The Morse code signal "XXX" ( ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ), which has the same meaning that "pan-pan" does in radiotelephony, was first defined by the International Radiotelegraph Convention of 1927.
As with "mayday" (from venez m'aider, "come help me"), the urgency signal pan-pan derives from French. In French, a panne [pan] is a breakdown, such as a mechanical failure. In English, it is sometimes pronounced as /pɑːn/ PAHN and sometimes as /pæn/ PAN.
A three-letter backronym, "possible assistance needed" or "pay attention now", derives from pan. Maritime and aeronautical radio communications courses use those as mnemonics to convey the important difference between mayday and pan-pan.
To declare pan-pan correctly, the caller repeats it three times: "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan", then states the intended recipient, either "all stations, all stations, all stations", or a specific station, e.g. "Victoria Coast Guard Radio, Victoria Coast Guard Radio, Victoria Coast Guard Radio". Then the caller states their craft's identification, position, nature of the problem, and the type of assistance or advice they require, if any.
The phrase "PAN-PAN MEDICAL" is reserved for medical transports. It is used to announce and identify medical transports.
One special case of "pan-pan" is to ask for medical advice. This is a normal "pan-pan" call that includes a phrase such as "request medical advice" and the craft identification, position, and nature of the medical problem. It should not be confused with the term "PAN-PAN MEDICAL" which is reserved for medical transports.
This type of call is specifically for getting a physician's advice for a medical problem that does not, in the opinion of the skipper or master of the vessel, seem life-threatening. The phrase "pan-pan medico" appears in some older reference books, but is not a correct usage.
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Pan-pan
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 need help and that the situation is urgent, but for the time being, does not pose an 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 (distress signal), which means that there is imminent danger to life or to the continued viability of the vessel itself. Radioing "pan-pan" informs potential rescuers (including emergency services and other craft in the area) that an urgent problem exists, whereas "mayday" calls on them to drop all other activities and immediately begin a rescue.
The Morse code signal "XXX" ( ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄ ), which has the same meaning that "pan-pan" does in radiotelephony, was first defined by the International Radiotelegraph Convention of 1927.
As with "mayday" (from venez m'aider, "come help me"), the urgency signal pan-pan derives from French. In French, a panne [pan] is a breakdown, such as a mechanical failure. In English, it is sometimes pronounced as /pɑːn/ PAHN and sometimes as /pæn/ PAN.
A three-letter backronym, "possible assistance needed" or "pay attention now", derives from pan. Maritime and aeronautical radio communications courses use those as mnemonics to convey the important difference between mayday and pan-pan.
To declare pan-pan correctly, the caller repeats it three times: "Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan", then states the intended recipient, either "all stations, all stations, all stations", or a specific station, e.g. "Victoria Coast Guard Radio, Victoria Coast Guard Radio, Victoria Coast Guard Radio". Then the caller states their craft's identification, position, nature of the problem, and the type of assistance or advice they require, if any.
The phrase "PAN-PAN MEDICAL" is reserved for medical transports. It is used to announce and identify medical transports.
One special case of "pan-pan" is to ask for medical advice. This is a normal "pan-pan" call that includes a phrase such as "request medical advice" and the craft identification, position, and nature of the medical problem. It should not be confused with the term "PAN-PAN MEDICAL" which is reserved for medical transports.
This type of call is specifically for getting a physician's advice for a medical problem that does not, in the opinion of the skipper or master of the vessel, seem life-threatening. The phrase "pan-pan medico" appears in some older reference books, but is not a correct usage.