High engine vibration after bird strike. Frontier A321neo declares PAN-PAN at San Jose. Real ATC

[@yaronsteinbuch3956]

Cool as a cucumber pilot and good job by ATC. Oh, I liked how pilot told tower he had already provided the SOB/fuel info to arrival. 😊

[@sambiscits6711]

That's exactly what I was going to comment on. I didn't think there was any difference in Pan Pan Pan Mayday. I just looked it up. Is engine failure Pan-Pan or Mayday? Pan Pan is used for urgent situations that require attention but are not immediately life-threatening. In contrast, Mayday is reserved for emergencies where life or the vessel is in imminent danger.

[@yaronsteinbuch3956]

@@sambiscits6711 Engine failure is not always mayday but that depends on single- vs. multi-engine planes, as well as what the failure is exactly and loss of control. It’s safer to declare (an emergency) in certain circumstances and sometimes ATC will do it for you in any case. In this episode, it was an engine vibration that did not compromise flight dynamics so the pilot kept it at pan-pan, which seems reasonable to me.

[@dominicdahlheimer6861]

Totally agree with the other comment..... There SHOULD be NO NEED to have to tell each controller fuel remaining / SOB..... WITH ALL THE FAA's alledged technology etc ONCE SHOULD BE ENOUGH. AND IN THIS CASE THE CONTROLLER ALSO HAD TO ASK IF THEY WERE AN EMERGENCY AFTER THE FLIGHT CREW ANNOUNCED PAN-PAN-PAN...... LET'S LISTEN UP A BIT MORE ATC!!!!!

[@ChrisJones-mp6qh]

Pan-Pan is Urgent/Distress with possibility of becoming an emergency. Because it wasn't an emergency, Approach did not need to relay the Souls or Fuel remaining to Tower. That given, any controller has the ability to declare an emergency for an aircraft, if deemed necessary. Getting all info before something big could *possibly* happen is always a good idea. That way all bases are covered. ATC did their job as intended here.

[@Ndub1036]

@@ChrisJones-mp6qhpan pan and distress are both declaring an emergency

[@legofreak3204]

Someone has done their homework. Or the pilots are not from the USA. Make a clear distinction between MAYDAY and PAN-PAN. And the side kick that approch already has the SOB and fuel

[@Xanthopteryx]

Oh my.. Finally the pilot does the correct thing: PAN-PAN! And NOT declaring emergency.... Then controller: Are you an emergency? This is... so bad... Please, USA air traffic - START FOLLOWING THE RULES! Learn what MAYDAY means and what PAN-PAN means!

[@Ndub1036]

Pan pan is declaring an emergency

[@BabyMakR]

Out of curiosity, from a mechanical point of view, what would be causing the 'high vibration' Would it be damage to the engine, like a bent blade or something or would it be part of the bird stuck somewhere in the engine? Does running the engine after a bird strike cause more damage? (I know, none on the plane cares about more damage to the engine) would shutting down that engine save the engine from more damage? Also, aren't these engines supposed to be able to eat large birds without issue? Would this have been a Canada Geese, like took down 1549 or would it be more of a golden BB type situation. Just hit the wrong place at the wrong time?

[@MaVaLa-um2lu]

I know comms with ATC is not prohibited under the sterile cockpit rules. But come on: 1600 ft AGL and he is asking him about fuel and SOB (again). This standard procedure clearly needs some serious adjustments.

[@Ndub1036]

No one knows that pan pan is declaring an emergency here. Souls and fuel get asked but not passed along so that they have to be repeated during critical phase of flight. We really need some work.