"Sam Spade" wrote in message
...

I still think the imperative has to be stated, rather than what can be
taken as future intent.

"We need to..." clouds the issue. "American 123 is declaring an
emergency." Then, let ATC respond. If the response is unsatisfactory;
i.e., "What is the nature of your emegency American 123?, then the PIC
should take additional direct action.

It is not the time for brevity or inferences. The crew started out okay,
but absolutely did not follow through.


The crew declared an emergency situation with that statement.