Pre-brief
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Callsign: Easy 274
Route: London Luton (EGGW) to Ibiza (LEIB)
Current state: You are cruising at flight level 340 over south-eastern France when the senior cabin crew member reports smoke from the rear galley. The source is unknown. The Captain is the Pilot Flying; you are working the radio. You are on Marseille Control frequency.
Souls on board: 182
Endurance: 1 hour 40 minutes
Your role: First Officer, working the radio (Pilot Monitoring)
How this works
How this works. You’re playing the pilot. A instructor will introduce the activity in her own voice, then the controller’s first transmission begins. Every radio transmission — controller or pilot — ends with a short roger beep, the cue that the speaker has finished. After each controller transmission, the instructor gives you an instruction — telling you what information to communicate back to the controller (e.g. read back a clearance, declare an emergency, report your status) — and reminds you that you have eight seconds to respond. Your job is to relay that information to the controller using proper ATC phraseology. Speak your reply aloud — recording yourself on a phone voice memo makes review easier. You’ll then hear one model pilot response against light cabin background — that’s one acceptable phrasing, not the only correct one. Take notes while you listen if it helps.
Comprehension questions
-
What did the controller observe that prompted the first call?
The controller said ‘I am reading an emergency squawk’ — the crew had set transponder code 7700 before calling.
-
After acknowledging the Mayday, what descent altitude and heading did the controller assign?
The controller said ‘descend to altitude four thousand feet, turn right heading one eight zero’.
-
What was the wind at Marseille when the landing clearance was given?
The controller reported ‘wind two eight zero degrees, one five knots’.
-
The crew declared a Mayday rather than a Pan-Pan. Why is an unknown smoke source treated as a Mayday?
If you cannot identify and rule out a serious fire, you treat it as the worst case. An unidentified smoke source can conceal an electrical or structural fire that endangers the aircraft.
Full transcript
Controller: Easy 274, Marseille Control. I am reading an emergency squawk. Say your situation.
Instructor cue: Declare the emergency, state the nature of the smoke, and request an immediate diversion to Marseille.
Pilot (model response): Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. Marseille Control, Easy 274, smoke from the rear galley, source unknown. Flight level 340. 182 souls on board. Endurance 1 hour 40 minutes. Request immediate diversion to Marseille. Easy 274.
Why it works: opens with the Mayday call spoken three times, then names the station and callsign, states the nature of the emergency (smoke, source unknown), gives flight level, souls on board, and endurance in time before making the request. Complete Mayday elements in order.
Controller: Easy 274, Mayday acknowledged. Descend to altitude 4,000 feet, turn right heading 180. Vectors for ILS runway 31R at Marseille. QNH 1021.
Instructor cue: Read back your descent altitude, the heading, the approach, and the QNH.
Pilot (model response): Descending to altitude 4,000 feet, right heading 180, ILS runway 31R, QNH 1021. Easy 274.
Why it works: complete read-back in the same order as the instruction — altitude, heading, approach type and runway, QNH — with the callsign closing the transmission.
Controller: Easy 274, confirm current cabin status. Are you ready for approach?
Instructor cue: Tell the controller the galley fire is extinguished and the smoke is clearing, and confirm you are ready for approach.
Pilot (model response): Galley fire extinguished, smoke clearing. Cabin crew have confirmed the source is contained. Ready for approach. Easy 274.
Why it works: directly answers both questions (cabin status and approach readiness). Stating the source is contained is the key assurance ATC needs before issuing the approach clearance.
Controller: Easy 274, roger. Cleared for ILS approach runway 31R. Wind 280 degrees, 15 knots. Emergency services are standing by.
Instructor cue: Read back your approach clearance and the runway.
Pilot (model response): Cleared ILS runway 31R. Easy 274.
Why it works: minimal but complete — the approach type and runway designator are the key items in a landing clearance read-back. Wind and emergency services are information items, not instructions.
Key vocabulary and phraseology
| Term | Definition / note |
|---|---|
| emergency squawk (noun phrase) | Transponder code 7700 set by the crew, which shows on ATC radar as a special alert symbol. Usually set before the Mayday call so ATC sees the problem before hearing it. |
| Mayday (distress call) | International distress call, spoken three times. Signals an immediate threat to the aircraft or people on board. |
| galley (noun) | The aircraft kitchen where cabin crew prepare food and beverages. A common source of smoke incidents due to overheating ovens or electrical faults. |
| endurance (noun) | Flying time remaining, reported in hours and minutes — never as fuel mass. Standard Mayday information for emergency coordination. |
| vectors for ILS (phrase) | ATC-assigned headings that guide an aircraft onto the instrument landing system beam. Replaces “direct to the airport” with a structured approach path. |
| QNH (noun) | Local atmospheric pressure, used to set the altimeter so the aircraft’s altitude reads height above sea level. Spoken letter by letter. |
| read-back (noun) | The pilot’s word-for-word repetition of a clearance to confirm it was received correctly. |
| emergency services standing by (phrase) | Fire engines, ambulance, and rescue teams are positioned at the runway threshold, ready to respond the moment the aircraft lands. |
Variation prompt
How else could you have phrased your Mayday declaration? What would change if, after gap 3, the cabin crew had reported the smoke was worsening and the source was still unidentified — would you maintain the approach or request additional time?
Level
Level: CEFR B2 / ICAO Level 5
Want to read about a real cabin fire emergency? See our news article: JAL A350 Destroyed at Haneda; All 379 Survive.