Doing a Mayday call

[jordan Kimbrey]

as a newbie for flight sim this topic has seem to be a bit contraversial to say the least. i know obviously i shouldn't squark 7500 as the main thing but i would like to simulate some maydays for engine fails for medical emergancies (i have a program that simulates Passengers on my flights) but the main thing i've been told is that this isn't allowed. i have done one or two Pan-Pan calls and the ATC have been alright with me so far but what about mayday? i don't hear it alot so i'm a bit nervous

[Tomas Hansson]

Section B6 in the Code of Conduct covers emergencies on the network:

https://www.vatsim.net/documents/code-of-conduct

Quote

B6 - No flight may declare itself to have priority over another. Pilots are permitted to declare in-flight emergencies only when under air traffic control. If, for any reason, air traffic control requests the pilot to terminate the emergency, then the pilot must do so IMMEDIATELY or disconnect from the network. Pilots are not permitted to simulate any unlawful act including, but not limited to, declaring a hijack by any method, including entering a transponder code of 7500.

 

Edited February 24, 2021 at 01:51 PM by Tomas Hansson

[jordan Kimbrey]

Thank you for Clearing this up!

[Andreas Fuchs]

And just to be sure: "7500" is not an emergency code (aka MAYDAY), but the one for illicit things going on, a hijacking. At VATSIM - for obvious reasons - it is not allowed to simulate hijacking situations.

A normal emergency is code 7700 and you should declare "MAYDAY, MADAY, MADAY, [description of the nature of your problem and your immediate intentions]".

Actually, there's a nice mnemonic for those codes: ICE!

• I : Illicit things going on (hijack) 7500
• C : radio/communication failure 7600
• E : Emergency 7700

At VATSIM you can only simulator the "E" of ICE. Stay cool 😄
 

Edited February 24, 2021 at 02:25 PM by Andreas Fuchs

[Robert Shearman Jr]

Additionally, you can request a descent or vectors or to divert to the nearest available airport, and state the reason, without actually declaring an emergency.

The main reason the rule exists is to prevent it from being abused to push yourself to the front of the line, or to monopolize the controller's attention.  If you're not doing either of those things, most controllers are likely to accommodate, in my experience and observation.

[Dustin Rider]

If you're declaring an emergency while in communication with ATC and have already been radar identified, there really is no need to squawk 7700. The controller already knows who and where you are and will effect coordination with other facilities as needed. That code was designed to facilitate expeditious identification of an aircraft in distress when they call out of nowhere. I've had a handful of pilots declare (or ask if they can declare) an emergency and I'll accommodate if I can, which is most of the time. 

[Ryan Geckler]

33 minutes ago, Dustin Rider said:

If you're declaring an emergency while in communication with ATC and have already been radar identified, there really is no need to squawk 7700. The controller already knows who and where you are and will effect coordination with other facilities as needed. That code was designed to facilitate expeditious identification of an aircraft in distress when they call out of nowhere. I've had a handful of pilots declare (or ask if they can declare) an emergency and I'll accommodate if I can, which is most of the time. 

^ this.

 

Please don't squawk the code if you're in contact with a controller. It's incredibly annoying to everyone else. We know you have an issue, no need to do an extra step.

[Andreas Fuchs]

34 minutes ago, Dustin Rider said:

If you're declaring an emergency while in communication with ATC and have already been radar identified, there really is no need to squawk 7700.

In the real world you will still set 7700 to make sure all other/adjacent sectors are aware of the emergency.

[Dustin Rider]

16 minutes ago, Andreas Fuchs said:

In the real world you will still set 7700 to make sure all other/adjacent sectors are aware of the emergency.

No, it's not really necessary in the real world, either under the circumstances in my previous post. I worked at a center and all I had to do was call for the sup, let them know what was going on and what the pilot's intentions were, and they'd coordinate the rest. Controller-to-controller coordination is a matter of a phone call, which is even easier if I have a D-side. If someone I'm already working declares an emergency and changes their discrete beacon code to 7700, it pops up on everyone's scope, which places an obligation to surrounding controllers and facilities to call me and ask if I see it. 

I concede that there are real life situations where 7700 can be useful even under these circumstances, but for the purposes of VATSIM, I would argue that there's simply no need unless the pilot is VFR within the jurisdiction on an online ARTCC/FIR, not talking to anyone, and wants to simulate an emergency. 

[Andreas Fuchs]

Hi Dustin,

I have been working 20+ years as an ATP rated pilot and in an emergency we definitely set SQ7700, it actually is part of our training. In some places ATC will even ask pilots to not just call MAYDAY, but also to set 7700 if they forgot to do it in the heat of the moment, for the above mentioned reasons.

Edited February 24, 2021 at 07:10 PM by Andreas Fuchs

[Dustin Rider]

18 minutes ago, Andreas Fuchs said:

Hi Dustin,

I have been working 20+ years as an ATP rated pilot and in an emergency we definitely set SQ7700, it actually is part of our training. In some places ATC will even ask pilots to not just call MAYDAY, but also to set 7700 if they forgot to do it in the heat of the moment, for the above mentioned reasons.

Our individual experience notwithstanding, what I'm saying here is that from my point of view as a controller, if you are on my frequency, on a discrete beacon code, and declare an emergency because you're number 2 engine just had an uncontained failure, there is nothing to be gained by squawking 7700 because I already know where you are. The only things I really need to know are your intentions and what type of assistance is needed. There are other things, like fuel and souls, but those can be obtained when time permits.

To be clear, I'm not saying don't do it, I'm saying under most circumstances (and especially on the network) there's almost no need to use this code. 

[Robert Shearman Jr]

On 2/24/2021 at 2:10 PM, Andreas Fuchs said:

Hi Dustin,

I have been working 20+ years as an ATP rated pilot and in an emergency we definitely set SQ7700, it actually is part of our training. In some places ATC will even ask pilots to not just call MAYDAY, but also to set 7700 if they forgot to do it in the heat of the moment, for the above mentioned reasons.

No need to have a "who's the bigger deal" contest.  Ryan is also a real-world controller.  You stated your point of view from your experience, he stated his point of view from his, and there we are -- stuck in the usual middle of "regional differences in procedure."

[Andreas Fuchs]

Oh, I am not running the "who's got the longer schlong" competition, I am too old for this 😄 I was just trying to make sure Dustin understands that I am not a pure SIM or armchair pilot. Basically, I stick to what I wrote before: when I have an emergency (engine failure, fire, loss cabin pressure etc.) I set 7700, anywhere in the world.

[Joshua Jenkins]

On 2/24/2021 at 6:20 AM, Andreas Fuchs said:

At VATSIM you can only simulator the "E" of ICE. Stay cool 😄

Could you not have a comms failure on VATSIM? I don't seem to recall any rule that prohibits it. Yeah it would be very rare to lose 2 or 3 radios irl but maybe your random failure generator just had a really bad day😛

[Dustin Rider]

4 hours ago, Josh Jenk said:

Could you not have a comms failure on VATSIM? I don't seem to recall any rule that prohibits it. Yeah it would be very rare to lose 2 or 3 radios irl but maybe your random failure generator just had a really bad day😛

Well, yes and no. You could lose the ability to use voice communication, but we have text as a backup. Even if all of your radios go dark in the cockpit, you should still be able to send and receive messages through your pilot client. Simulating radio failure on VATSIM is sort of pointless, though, since the whole idea of the network is to work with human controllers. 

[jordan Kimbrey]

i'll be honest i have Squarked 7600 but mainly that i was having mic troubles and couldn't hear the controller but switched it back as soon as i could hear everyone and i didn't really get any complaints but this was why i had to ask cause i didn't wanna do a mayday call then people getting into arguements but thakn you all for your inputs