Sydney Airport Message Board - C-130 Mayday Call

From news.com.au

Quote:

Aircraft makes emergency landing
June 06, 2008 10:35pm

A military aircraft has been forced to make an emergency landing at Richmond airbase in Sydney's west.

The Royal Australian Air Force C-130 Hercules sent out an urgency message before landing at the base just before 10pm (AEST) today.

The landing was made for precautionary reasons, a defence department spokesman said, but he was unsure why.

"The aircraft declared what's known as a pan pan - an urgency message - which is a step below a mayday.

"It's saying that you've got some kind of issue but you're in no immediate danger.

"I don't know what the cause of that was. But it was a precautionary measure. There was nothing to it."

Having worked on C-130's, even a double engine failure may have been just a pan call as the aircraft can fly safely, (although with some difficulty if both engines on the same side fail), with two engines shut down.