M1, S5, C1 - Aircraft Emergencies Flashcards
The circumstances of each aircraft emergency can vary to such an extent that detailed instructions cannot be given for every situation.
The procedures outlined in this section are intended as a general guide and controllers must…
…use their own judgement when handling a particular emergency.
In the case of an aircraft known or believed to be in a state of an emergency, including being subject to unlawful interference, ATS units shall give the aircraft…
…maximum consideration, assistance and priority over other aircraft as may be necessitated by the circumstances.
Subsequent ATC actions shall be based on the intentions of the pilot, the overall air traffic situation and the real-time dynamics of the contingency.
When an occurrence of unlawful interference with an aircraft takes place or is suspected, air traffic service units shall…
…attend promptly to requests by the aircraft.
Information pertinent to the safe conduct of the flight shall continue to be transmitted and necessary action shall be taken to expedite the conduct of all phases of the flight, especially the safe landing of the aircraft
When an occurrence of unlawful interference with an aircraft takes place or is suspected, ATS units shall, in accordance with locally agreed procedures…
…immediately inform the appropriate authority and exchange necessary information with the aircraft operator or its designated representative
When an air traffic services unit knows or believes that an aircraft is being subjected to unlawful interference…
…no reference shall be made in ATS air-ground communications to the nature of the emergency unless it has first been referred to in communications from the aircraft involved and it is certain that such reference will not aggravate the situation
An aircraft which is being subject to unlawful interference shall endeavour to…
…set the transponder to Code 7500 and notify the appropriate ATS unit of any significant circumstances associated therewith and any deviation from the current flight plan necessitated by the circumstances, in order to enable the ATS unit to give priority to the aircraft and to minimise conflict with other aircraft
If an aircraft is subject to unlawful interference, the pilot-in-command shall attempt to…
…land as soon as practicable at the nearest suitable aerodrome or at a dedicated aerodrome assigned by the competent authority, unless considerations aboard the aircraft dictate otherwise
The procedures described in the preceding sections and the appropriate standard phraseology may also be varied to meet an emergency situation but any reduction in separation, necessary to cope with the emergency, should be…
…restored as soon as possible. Special arrangements, made locally for handling aircraft emergencies, are detailed in MATS Part 2.
In addition to the procedures outlined below…
…CAP 745 Aircraft Emergencies – Considerations for Air Traffic Controllers, is available to give further guidance on handling emergency situations.
Controllers must always be alert to the possibility of…
…an aircraft emergency. Speed may be necessary in certain circumstances, but calm co-ordinated actions are essential in all situations.
Controllers shall offer as much assistance as possible to any aircraft that is considered to be in an emergency situation. Assistance to the aircraft can include…
…the provision of information on the availability of aerodromes and their associated approach aids, vectoring, weather information and details of terrain clearance.
An emergency may require alerting action to be taken immediately or it may develop to that point later.
The supervisor, if available, should be informed as soon as practicable and where more than one ATSU is involved…
…complete co-ordination must be maintained between units.
If the ACC is involved the ACC supervisor should take charge of the operation. Controllers must be ready to…
…give all possible assistance to the ACC, ARCC and other units. If more than one ACC is involved then the supervisors should agree between them which one takes charge
Who should be advised of any aircraft emergency?
The D&D cell
A controller may suspect that an aircraft is in an emergency situation or has suffered unlawful interference when:
(1) radio contact is not established at the time it is expected to be established;
(2) radio contact is lost;
(3) a pilot makes a report about the malfunctioning of his aircraft or the unusual behaviour of persons on-board;
(4) the erratic behaviour of an aircraft or position symbol is observed;
(5) it is overdue at an aerodrome; or
(6) the pilot reports that the aircraft is short of fuel.
If the controller is in radio contact with the aircraft he should ask the pilot if he wishes to…
…declare an emergency and, if not specified by the pilot, the class of emergency being declared.
Pilots have been advised that, in the event of an emergency situation, an ATSU can only provide the necessary priority and handling if the controller is…
…made aware of the emergency by the crew’s formal declaration on the RTF.
Pilots have also been advised that the extent to which an ATSU will be able to offer assistance will depend on…
…the amount of information provided and on its being transmitted at the earliest opportunity.
Furthermore, it is preferable that if pilots believe that they are facing an emergency situation, to declare it as early as possible and cancel it later if they decide that the situation allows.
There are two classes of emergency message:
Distress: A condition of being threatened by serious and/or imminent danger and of requiring immediate assistance.
Urgency: A condition concerning the safety of an aircraft or other vehicle, or of some person on board or within sight, but which does not require immediate assistance.
The message will contain as many as possible of the following items:
(1) MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY (for distress messages); or
PAN PAN, PAN PAN, PAN PAN (for urgency messages); and
(2) Name of the station addressed (time and circumstances permitting) Identification of the aircraft;
(3) Nature of the emergency;
(4) Intention of the person in command Present position, level and heading;
(5) Qualification of the pilot e.g. Student, IMC or full instrument rating (urgency messages); and
(6) As much other information as time permits
If the position is stated in terms of LORAN co-ordinates, the RCC will…
…RCC will convert it to latitude and longitude at the request of the ACC supervisor
When a pilot has given certain items of information normally associated with an emergency message but has not prefixed the transmission with ‘MAYDAY’ or ‘PAN’, the controller is to…
…ask the pilot if he wishes to declare an emergency.
If the pilot declines to do so, the controller may, if he thinks it appropriate, carry out the necessary actions as if the pilot had declared an emergency.
The term ‘fuel emergency’ has…
…no status in the UK and controllers are not required to give priority to aircraft with a reported shortage of fuel unless an emergency is declared
If a controller considers that another ATSU may be able to give more assistance and, in the circumstances, it is reasonable to do so, the pilot should be asked to…
…change frequency.
Notification of distress by visual signal will be by one or more of the following methods:
(1) The signal SOS with signalling apparatus;
(2) A succession of pyrotechnical lights fired at short intervals, each showing a single red light;
(3) A parachute flare showing a red light.
Notification of urgency by visual signal will be:
(1) for an aircraft in difficulties that compel it to land without requiring assistance, the following signals:
(a) Switching the landing lights on and off repeatedly;
(b) Switching the navigation lights on and off repeatedly;
(c) A succession of white pyrotechnical lights.
(2) For an aircraft with a very urgent message to transmit concerning the safety of an aircraft (including that sending the message), a ship or person, the signal XXX with signalling apparatus.
Pilots may select the following SSR transponder codes to indicate the emergency situation:
(1) Code 77 (7700) – Aircraft Emergency
(2) Code 76 (7600) – Radio Failure (see Chapter 4)
(3) Code 75 (7500) – Hijack or Other Act of Violence (see Chapter 5).
To indicate an emergency condition pilots are encouraged to select Code…
…7700 as soon as is practicable after declaring an emergency situation, having due regard for the overriding importance of controlling aircraft and containing the emergency.
However, if the aircraft is already transmitting a discrete code and receiving an air traffic service, that code may be retained at the discretion of either the pilot or the controller.
Pilots lost or uncertain of position and experiencing either transmitter or complete radio failure are advised, as a last resort, to…
…carry out special procedures to indicate to controllers that they require assistance.
Lost aircraft fly at least two triangular patterns, before resuming course, as follows:
Aircraft Speed
More than 300 knots - 1 minute Legs
300 knots or less - 2 minute Legs
Transmitter Failure Only - Right hand turns
Complete Failure - Left hand turns
If a triangular pattern is observed, controllers shall…
…advise the D&D cell of the position and track and continue to plot the aircraft whilst it is within ATS surveillance system cover.
Controllers should also be aware of the effect wind may have on the pilot’s ability to fly an accurate triangle
On receipt of information that indicates that an aircraft is in an emergency, the controller must decide…
…whether or not to transfer the aircraft to another agency.
The choice of agency will depend upon the circumstances and no hard and fast rules apply. The following guidance material will help controllers to make this decision.
If the controller can offer immediate assistance the aircraft should normally be…
…retained on the frequency. If necessary, impose a radio silence on other aircraft or transfer them to another frequency.
Alternatively it may be more expedient to transfer the emergency aircraft to a discrete frequency, particularly if a radio silence would endanger other traffic.
The aircraft should be retained on the original frequency if it is unreasonable to…
…ask the pilot, or if he is not prepared, to change frequency. The controller may be able to relay instructions and information from other units to the pilot
If a controller considers that another unit may be able to give more assistance than he can himself and in the circumstances it is reasonable to ask the pilot to change frequency, he shall either:
(1) consult the ACC supervisor and transfer the aircraft according to his instructions; or
(2) alert the nearest suitable unit and transfer the aircraft to a common frequency, giving assistance to that unit as required.
Before transferring aircraft, controllers should obtain…
…sufficient information from the pilot to be convinced that the aircraft will receive more assistance from another unit.
If a change of frequency is desirable the pilot must be instructed to revert immediately if there is no reply on the new frequency.
Controllers should then listen out on the original frequency until the aircraft is known to be in two-way communication with the other unit.
The RAF Distress and Diversion (D&D) cell at Swanwick can provide assistance to civil aircraft in an emergency in addition to the service it provides for military aircraft on 243.0 MHz.
The D&D cell has access to NATS radars, with a facility to detect emergency SSR squawks automatically; and although D&D can provide an ATC surveillance service to an emergency aircraft in transit to its diversion aerodrome, other ATC agencies and in particular controllers at aerodromes, should consider the following points when dealing with D&D:
(1) Terms used by D&D for handling of emergency
D&D use the terms ‘Executive Control’ and ‘Operational Control.’ If an aircraft calls on 121.5 MHz, the D&D controller has both executive and operational control. Once D&D hand the aircraft to another unit they pass-over Operational Control but retain Executive Control. This means that D&D do not give up all responsibility for an emergency once the aircraft is working another unit. They retain responsibility for overall management until the emergency ends.
(2) Surveillance Cover
D&D controllers only have access to the Area Control ATS surveillance systems at their parent unit, which may have poor low level coverage, therefore a D&D controller may seek an early handover to the aerodrome ATSU in order to avoid the need to stop the descent of an emergency aircraft.
(4) Minimum Sector Altitudes
D&D controllers do not have a detailed knowledge of the local airspace, terrain or obstacles surrounding aerodromes. Therefore the D&D controller may require guidance on local Minimum Sector Altitudes in order to provide the fullest possible service to actual emergencies.
(5) RTF Coverage
D&D’s low level radio coverage (below 3000 feet amsl) is poor and so an early handover to the diversion aerodrome may be sought by the D&D controller. In certain circumstances, e.g. A UHF-only equipped aircraft diverting to a VHF-only equipped aerodrome ATSU, it may be impossible to transfer RTF communications with the aircraft to its destination aerodrome. In these circumstances the D&D controller may request that the control of the aircraft be transferred to the aerodrome ATSU, which would necessitate all subsequent control instructions being passed on the telephone, through the D&D controller, for relay to the pilot. It is imperative when this happens that controllers are agreed as to who is responsible for the control of the aircraft. Additionally, the aircraft may initially need to be kept high and/or very early landing clearances passed to the pilot, so that all necessary control instructions are completed before loss of RTF occurs.
