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MAYDAY” is the emergency radio call sign used in international aviation. It may only be used when there is an urgent and major threat to the safety of a flight and immediate assistance is required. When used, this call sign gives absolute precedence to radio communications from the affected flight over all others on the same frequency.
It was introduced to aviation in 1923 by Frederick Stanley Mockford (1897-1962) who was at the time Senior Radio Officer at Croydon Airport in London. He had been asked to think up a word that would be easily memorable and comprehensible to signify an emergency. Moreover, it had to be easy to pronounce and understand, both by pilots and ATC. As this was a time when there was a high level of traffic between Great Britain and Paris, he suggested an English derivative of the French phrase “aidez moi” (“help me”), transformed it to “moi aidez”, then “m`aidez” and further to “Mayday” so that English as well as French pilots would feel equally comfortable using it. When repeated three times (“MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY”), this call sign, proved to be clearly audible and unmistakable, even under poor transmission or reception conditions.
“Mayday” was adopted at the 1927 International Radiotelegraph Convention in Washington as the emergency call sign for radio communications. At the 1932 Telecommunications Convention in Madrid, agreement was reached on standards and frequencies for emergency transmissions and, at the 1948 conference in Montreal, “Mayday” was incorporated into the standard phraseology of international aviation.
It was introduced to aviation in 1923 by Frederick Stanley Mockford (1897-1962) who was at the time Senior Radio Officer at Croydon Airport in London. He had been asked to think up a word that would be easily memorable and comprehensible to signify an emergency. Moreover, it had to be easy to pronounce and understand, both by pilots and ATC. As this was a time when there was a high level of traffic between Great Britain and Paris, he suggested an English derivative of the French phrase “aidez moi” (“help me”), transformed it to “moi aidez”, then “m`aidez” and further to “Mayday” so that English as well as French pilots would feel equally comfortable using it. When repeated three times (“MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY”), this call sign, proved to be clearly audible and unmistakable, even under poor transmission or reception conditions.
“Mayday” was adopted at the 1927 International Radiotelegraph Convention in Washington as the emergency call sign for radio communications. At the 1932 Telecommunications Convention in Madrid, agreement was reached on standards and frequencies for emergency transmissions and, at the 1948 conference in Montreal, “Mayday” was incorporated into the standard phraseology of international aviation.