Pan-pan
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A call of pan-pan is a very urgent message concerning the safety of a ship, aircraft or other vehicle, or persons on board who do not require immediate assistance. It is distinct from a mayday which is used when an aircraft (or other vehicle) and its occupants are threatened by grave and imminent danger and require immediate assistance. Thus, pan-pan indicates urgency whereas mayday indicates distress.
As the French term "panne" nominally refers to a mechanical failure or breakdown of any kind, the call has been used in aviation during urgent emergency landing requests such as that sent as a result of the electrical fire which was to destroy Swissair Flight 111.