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.
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.
— George Allison (@geoallison) November 4, 2022
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.
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… Read more »
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?
Sorry, Jon. Here is the website
http://ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot.com/
If you have Twitter acount it appears right hand column.
Thanks, Daniele. Not one of my regulars. (Not yet anyway, I suppose. 😁)
Gabs knows his stuff and isn’t even a Brit.
Interesting site.
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
I daw a Ridgeback being prepped for donation yesterday.
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.
A succinct overview, Daniele.
There needs to be some positivity injected into this saga mate!
On a side note, I noticed a typhoon shadowing one of our EW planes in the Black Sea area this morning
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.
You mean 1 was squawking!! we only see what they want us (the OrCs) to see
I remember when I was a cadet when the Grob fleet was grounded being a propeller came off somewhere.
I would assume the propeller fell off the front. 😂😂😂😂
Morning MS. Bright and early in more ways than one 🙂
I wanted to make a more laughy face but for some reason the emoji panel is not available
Haha. Funny how a little emoji can say so much
Slight brown trouser (or flight suit) moment for the student there…
Of course you are princess, of course.
“Russian military declares emergency over Ukraine”……….
Anyone know why the international signal is pan-pan? Seems an odd choice of words.
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’.
Thanks for the info.