Mayday Calls
Making a false distress call in the United States is a federal crime carrying sanctions of up to six years imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000.
If a mayday call cannot be sent because a radio is not available a variety of other distress signals and calls for help can be used. A mayday can be sent on behalf of one vessel by another, using a convention called a mayday relay (see below).
Civilian aircraft making a mayday call in United States airspace are encouraged to use the following format (omitting any portions as necessary for expediency or where they are irrelevant):
MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY; (Name of station addressed); Aircraft callsign and type; Nature of emergency; Weather; Pilot's intentions and/or requests; Present position and heading, or if lost then last known position and heading and time when aircraft was at that position; Altitude or Flight level; Fuel remaining in minutes; Number of souls on board; Any other useful information.Read more about this topic: Mayday
Famous quotes containing the word calls:
“Go, smiling souls, your new-built cages break,
In heaven you’ll learn to sing, ere here to speak,
Nor let the milky fonts that bathe your thirst
Be your delay;
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Milk all the way.”
—Richard Crashaw (1613?–1649)