A Grob G115 aircraft, used by the Royal Air Force for training, declared “pan-pan” and squawked 7700 over Glasgow this afternoon due to “engine issues”.

It is understood that the engine issues included “low oil pressure and low RPM” with the aircraft engine.

It is understood that the aircraft had to return to Glasgow Airport due to the above issues. The aircraft and its two crew are on the ground now, and the aircraft did not require an emergency response on landing.

“Squawking” is communicating with air traffic control (ATC) by tuning a four-digit code on an aircraft’s transponder. This code, which is usually set before flight, is displayed on ATC radar identifying to the controllers the aircraft’s registration or flight number, heading, and altitude. Transponder codes can be changed, at ATC’s request, once in flight. However, a pilot can change the code if there’s a loss of communication (7600), a hijacking (7500), or an emergency (7700) as in the case of the Grob.

Pan-pan is an international radio distress signal, of less urgency than a mayday signal. A Pan-Pan call should be used for urgent situations that are not immediately life-threatening, but require assistance from someone on the ground.

The above image is by Alan Wilson, (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Flickr.

 

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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28 COMMENTS

  1. Apologies as totally OT but a subject that raises the temperature here.
    Taken from UKAFC Twitter feed today, a site that is essential daily reading for me as much as on here, and I’m sure Gabriel won’t mind…

    Regards Ajax

    “143 vehicles have been completed. 135 accepted by MOD; 26 already delivered to Army.
    43 vehicles at final Drop 3 design standard have been manufactured for trials
    46 of 103 training systems delivered to Army
    102 of 245 turrets and 324 of 589 hulls have been manufactured”

    “Latest testing of the firing on the move against moving targets was cleared in April at Lulworth, again according to General Dynamics. AJAX and ARES both reportedly did better than expected of them at reliability qualification tests in July.”

    “AJAX variant demonstrated crew survivability in a mine blast test in May; two final blast tests were/are planned for October and for this month. Ballistic testing of armor packages has been completed.”
    “Trials so far have involved >98,000km across variety of terrains
    97 battlefield missions
    >5,000 rounds of 40mm cannon
    Firing on the move at moving targets successfully completed
    Hot and cold climatic trials completed
    13 full vehicle mine blast tests successfully completed”

    “As of October, AJAX vibration and noise is under control. “All aspects of these characteristics are fully understood and compliant with the Ajax design and safety requirements”, GD writes. New, alternative headset solution has solved noise; vibration mitigation apparently works.”

    “Note that, while this report is from General Dynamics, Ben Wallace has since confirmed that User Validation Trials have indeed concluded and Reliability Growth Trials could begin as soon as next month, or in January. So the MOD presumably recognizes GD’s claims in the letter.”

    For me, this is encouraging news. The way the programme has been run, no defending it. But if all this is confirmed, and solutions are being found, as Ian has been hinting at, then maybe this programme can finally move forward.

    • Daniele. You’ve mentioned this feed before, but last time I searched I never found it. Googling UKAFC twitter is useless. Searching for the text you’ve written brings up nothing. Could you provide a link, please?

    • Re Ajax: The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Lets see when they set a date for Initial Operating Capability. Until then, it is all smoke and mirrors.

    • So it’s still very loud machine but if you have the right ear muffs your sorted. Cool. If it works and it’s what the army want that’s great.
      Meanwhile I saw people of Ukraine raised £6m in a fundraising effort and are buying CVRT’s (Spartans and maybe other variants) among other items. Hopefully the Uk have some scimitars and other variants the can donate soon

    • Good Morning Daniele. That is indeed good news and would suggest that the Defence spokesman who would not put an inservice date forward was being conservative and cautious. Btw-Lulworth-is that Lulworth of Lulworth Cove fame? I went there as a small boy in the 1950’s to a caravan park and got into trouble for throwing a handful of dry cement into the face of a lad who was bullying me.Funny how some things stick in one’s memory even at the age of six!

      • Morning geoff. Good for you! I hate bullies.
        Indeed, is the same. The RAC Centre AFV Gunnery School is at Lulworth Camp, and Bovington itself not far north.
        Tyneham village is another interesting relic of that area, requisitioned in WW2, like Imber in SPTA, and never returned to habitation.

    • Hi Mark, Yeah I was watching that myself this afternoon. Last time I tracked an RAF Rivet in the same area it was shadowed by two Typhoons but today, as you said, there was just one.
      Also in the area at the same time (but a bit further west) was a USAF Rivet and an Italian ISR aircraft.
      Cheers.

    • Derived from the French language in a similar way to “Mayday” (M’aidiez) or “Securite” calls on VHF in open water.

      Securite is usually for information only.
      Pan-Pan is an urgent situation, but not immediately life-threatening.
      Mayday is an broadcast that there is an imminent danger of loss of life and request for assistance.

    • Not sure of the origin of the word Pan but it’s not referred to as a ‘pan-pan’. Just a Pan call. When the initial emergency call is made it is prefaced by ‘Pan Pan Pan’ once or twice followed by details of the emergency. Subsequent radio exchanges between the aircraft and other stations are also prefaced by ‘Pan Pan Pan’ so that other aircraft hearing the calls do not interfere with the emergency transmissions.
      Mayday transmissions also follow the same procedure, i.e ‘Mayday Mayday Mayday’.

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