“PAN PAN” in Morse Code

The urgency call one step below MAYDAY: it flags a serious problem that is not yet life-threatening, so others clear the channel but hold off launching a rescue. The name comes from the French ‘panne’ — a breakdown — and, like mayday, it is always sent three times.

Letter by letter

To key it right, hold every dash three times as long as a dot. Leave a short three-unit breath between letters; the slash is the long, seven-unit pause between words. Want to hear it slower or flash it as light? Open it in the morse code translator.

More words in Morse

Verified by hand · how these write-ups are made