Due to a technical problem that has not yet been disclosed, the presidential plane (A319 ACJ VC-1) ended up canceling the flight to Brasília, flying over the surroundings of Felipe Angeles airport, in Mexico City.
In an audio recorded by the website LiveATC, it is possible to hear the dialogue in English between the VC-1 pilot and the control tower, when “PAN-PAN” was declared moments after takeoff at around 14:20 pm (local time).
Given the urgent situation, the tower requested that the aircraft turn to the right, asking if an immediate landing was necessary.
The incident occurred last Tuesday (1), in Mexico City, the aircraft was transporting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was fulfilling a diplomatic agenda in the country. The entourage arrived in Brasília only on the morning of this Wednesday (2), aboard the Embraer VC-2.
The expression PAN-PAN is used in situations where the plane needs urgent action, but without major risks, unlike emergency (MAYDAY), used in dangerous situations.
In the case of the presidential A319, the PAN-PAN was used due to a technical problem in one of the engines, however, the plane had to fly for almost 5 hours, since the model does not have a fuel jettison system, so that the landing would not shake the structure of the aircraft. To date, the VC-1 is still in Mexico.
Listen to the dialogue between the pilot and the tower below:
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