According to a report initially acquired by the Aviation Herald, the pilots of an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi to Dammam in Saudi Arabia declared Mayday and made an emergency landing in Doha after discovering that the left-hand engine had stalled.
After the emergency on January 29, the eight-year-old Airbus A321-200 stayed in Qatar for five days before being transported back to Abu Dhabi, where it was put back into service the next day.
Before being informed of the engine stall warning, the pilots of Etihad Airways aircraft EY325 reportedly noticed “several abnormal indications” immediately after takeoff.
The pilots made a “PAN PAN” call when they first started their detour towards Doha then upgraded it to a “Mayday” call eight minutes before landing.
In aviation radio communications, the signal “PAN PAN” is used to notify authorities of an urgent but non-life-threatening issue, such as the malfunction of an aircraft system that will necessitate quick attention and a detour.
But a Mayday call, which can be made for a variety of in-flight problems, including an engine failure, indicates that the situation is life-threatening.
