What Is a Mayday Call? The Critical Signal Sent Before the Air India AI171 Crash

Ahmedabad Plane Crash: In one of the worst tragedies for India, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flying from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed right after takeoff on Thursday afternoon.  The aircraft at the time of the crash had 242 passengers onboard including 217 adults, 11 children and 2 infants. 

Minutes before losing communication and crashing at Meghani Nagar- a semi-urban set-up in Gujarat, the jet, which had 242 persons on board - 230 passengers and 12 crew members - made a Mayday call. 

The Mayday Call: The Call of Distress in Aviation

A Mayday call is the most serious distress signal in aviation and is only used when there is a real and immediate threat.  "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" is spoken three times to make it stand out from other communications and make sure everyone knows what to do in an emergency. 

The call tells air traffic control and other planes around that they urgently need help. The crew of Flight AI171 called for help because they were in a very bad situation and needed immediate help. The ATC and other aviation officials have to quickly plan their rescue efforts and take action. 

Mayday- The Origin 

The term "Mayday" has its roots dated in 1920s. Frederick Stanley Mockford, a senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London, came up with the name "Mayday."  It comes from the French phrase "m'aider," which means "help me." It is an internationally acknowledged distress signal in the world of aviation. It was incorporated into international radio communications for pilots and sailors by 1923 and officially recognised in 1927. Croydon-Le Bourget flights started using the phrase first.

Air India Flight AI171 Crash

The Flight AI171 took off from Ahmedabad at 1:39 PM and made a Mayday call seconds before losing communication and crashing.  There were 242 people on the plane, including 169 Indians, 53 British, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian.  The event happened about five minutes after takeoff and hit a neighbourhood near the airport. 

The plane was in the hands of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of flying experience, and First Officer Clive Kundar, who had 1,100 hours of flying experience.  After the distress call, air traffic control couldn't get in touch with the plane again, and it didn't respond to any more attempts. Investigations are underway. All flights at Ahmedabad Airport have been halted.

Read more: 'No Thrust, Plane Not Taking Lift': Chilling Pilot May Day Call After Which It All Went Silent