What is a Mayday call? Modern emergency call in aviation explained
An Air India Boeing 7878 (Flight AI171), carrying 242 people, crashed five minutes after take-off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.It issued a Mayday call shortly before going silent -- and then plummeted into a building near Meghani Nagar, erupting in black smoke and fire.ORIGIN OF THE 'MAYDAY' DISTRESS SIGNALThe word 'Mayday' was coined in the early 1920s by Frederick Stanley Mockford, a radio officer at Croydon Airport in London. He chose it as a phonetic equivalent of the French phrase m'aider ('help me'), making it easily understood in cross-channel traffic.It became part of international radio communication for pilots and mariners by 1923, and was formally adopted in 1927 alongside the Morse 'SOS'.HOW A MAYDAY CALL WORKSWhen a pilot says 'Mayday, Mayday, Mayday', they're declaring a life-threatening emergency requiring immediate help. All non-essential radio traffic must stand down, and air traffic control (ATC) prioritises that call.Pilots then provide key details -- call sign, location, nature of emergency, number of people aboard, and requests -- so rescue teams can act fast.FIRST USE AND MODERN APPLICATIONFirst flight use (1923): Croydon-Le Bourget flights began using 'Mayday.'Aviation standard (1927): The International Radiotelegraph Convention formalised it.Today, emergency frequencies (121.5MHz and 243MHz) are constantly monitored by ATC for any Mayday signal.WHY IT MATTERS IN THIS CRASHadvertisementIn the case of Air India AI171, the Mayday call confirmed the crew faced a sudden, critical event shortly after take-off, even while ATC still maintained contact.Once issued, this signal instantly triggers emergency protocols, dispatching fire, medical, and security services to the scene.
Hotline number 1800 5691 444 can be dialled to get updates on passengers directly from Air India.Must Watch
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