Why do Pilots say Mayday? ?

Question

Why is it when a planes going down do they say Mayday? I know what it means, but what's it's origin? Anybody know why it's said instead of: "Oh bugger! The engines have failed!"

Thanks!

Answer 1

"Mayday" is known internationally as a distress signal.  When transmitted over the radio, it gets everybody's attention as being an emergency situation.

Its origins are from the French phrase "venez m'aider" meaning "come help me".

Answer 2

M'aidez ("Mayday") is an out-of-date military aviation expression now seen only in old war movies.  As mentioned, it derives from a French phrase meaning "help me."

Nowadays, pilots usually say, "We have a problem," or "we're declaring an emergency," or occasionally something more descriptive, like, "Oh Sh^t I've got an engine on fire!"

Answer 3

Saying oh bugger wouldn't get attention but saying something like mayday does help get attention because people are focused and no straight away that the aircraft is in serious danger and going down and is in destress and like others yes it is also french.

Answer 4

If a pilot says mayday to air traffic control he has to fill out a Mandatory Occurrence Report. This is to be avoided at all costs. Usually something less drastic sounding is used e.g.

" we appear to be a tiny bit short on fuel here, any chance of a direct routing?"

Answer 5

Because when the pilot is saying mayday the pilot is not talking to them self they are telling the tower that the plane is going down, it's an emergency.

Answer 6

Mayday is an emergency code word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. it comes from the French word m'aider.

Answer 7

As found on Urban Dictionary..

"It derives from the French "m'aidez", pronounced "mayDAY," and means literally "help me.""

Jr

Answer 8

As for why it's said rather than a more specific description of the problem, it's simply that it's an unambiguous way to declare an emergency. Standard phraseology calls for using the term three times right at the beginning of a radio transmission. This unambiguously lets everyone know that you have a situation of the utmost seriousness.

The airlines have multiple flight-crew members and are already in communication with air traffic controllers. But if you're alone, flying a single-engine plane VFR, you need a quick way to get a controller's complete attention. That's where "Mayday" comes in.

Answer 9

I'm not telling you to not say "Mayday" but, legally, declaring an "emergency" is what is significant. At least in U.S. airspace.

Answer 10

You should hear what thepilot says BEFORE he/she says mayday....!

LOL

Answer 11

From Wikipedia:

It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning 'come to my aid'/"come [to] help me." (The m'aider part is the bit that we've stolen for Mayday)

The call is always given three times in a row ("Mayday Mayday Mayday") to prevent mistaking it for some similar-sounding phrase under noisy conditions, and to distinguish an actual mayday call from a message about a mayday call.