- CHDIRAUX Home
- Coast Guard Boating Safety Division (CG-5422)
- Auxiliary Policy Statement
- Manuals & Publications
- Journalists Center
- Public Service Articles
- CGAux Help Desk (formerly AuxKB)
- Ribbon Checker
- Administration / ALAUX
- Awards
- AuxData
- CG-5421 Info
- Operations / Missions
- Training / Exams
- Chain of Leadership
- USCG Auxiliary
- Auxiliary International Affairs & Interpreter Corps
- Assoc For Rescue At Sea (AFRAS)
- Web Sites of Interest
- Design Team
Security Levels
How
to Obtain Emergency Assistance
Communication
Courtesy of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Associations (AOPA)
Climb — For improved communications and better radar and DF coverage. Note that an unauthorized climb or descent under IFR conditions within controlled airspace is prohibited, except as permitted by Federal Aviation Regulation 91.3(b).
Transponder — Switch to code 7700 when unable to immediately establish communications with an ATC facility. (If already in radio contact with an ATC facility, continue to squawk the discrete code assigned unless instructed to do otherwise.)
Contact ATC — Use the last frequency you were on. If unable to make contact, attempt contact through the emergency frequencies listed below:
- Inform ATC of the nature of the emergency.
- Specify your intentions.
- Specify assistance desired.
- Comply with instructions received.
- Note: Do not change frequencies unless absolutely necessary.
Distress or urgency communication
Distress — Transmit the word mayday three times:
Provides absolute
priority over all other communications.
Commands radio silence on the frequency in use.
Urgency — Transmit the word pan three times:
Provides priority
over all other communications except distress.
Warns other stations not to interfere with urgency transmissions.
Transmit as much of the following as possible:
- Mayday, mayday, mayday (if distress) or pan, pan, pan (if urgency). If CW transmission (Morse code), use SOS (distress) or XXX (uncertainty or alert).
- Name of station addressed.
- Aircraft identification and type.
- Position or estimated position (stating which).
- Heading — true or magnetic (stating which).
- True airspeed or estimated true airspeed (stating which).
- Altitude.
- Fuel remaining in hours and minutes.
- Nature of distress or urgency.
- Weather condition.
- Your intentions (forced landing, ditching, etc.).
- Assistance desired (fix, steer, bearing, escort, etc.).
- Number of people on board.
- Two 10-second dashes with microphone button (voice) or key (CW) followed by aircraft identification (once) and "over" (voice) or K (CW).
- If forced landing is imminent and aircraft is equipped with an emergency locator transmitter, activate the emergency signal.
Emergency Radio Frequencies
121.5 MHz (Voice) — Range: Generally limited to radio line-of-sight. Guarded by all military towers, most civil towers, VHF DF stations, radar facilities, and flight service stations (FSSs).
243.0 MHz (Voice) — Range: Generally limited to radio line-of-sight. Guarded by all military towers, most civil towers, UHF DF stations, radar facilities, and FSSs.
2182 kHz (Voice) — Range: Generally less than 300 miles for average aircraft installations. Guarded by some ships and boats, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) stations, and most commercial coast stations.
500 kHz (CW — Morse code) — Range: Generally less than 100 miles for average aircraft installations. Currently not guarded by any standard stations.
Note: Air route traffic control center (ARTCC) emergency frequency capability normally does not extend to radar coverage limits. If the ARTCC does not respond to transmission on emergency frequency 121.5 MHz or 243.0 MHz, initiate a call to the nearest FSS or ATC tower.
Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF)