Can There Be Consequences for Declaring an Emergency in Flight?

Main reason for pilots to use the ‘E’ word is to get priority treatment from ATC.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 07:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Air traffic controllers can’t help a pilot if they don’t know they are having trouble. [Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

Many aviation accidents are preventable, often occurring because pilots fail to declare emergencies, thus missing out on critical ATC assistance and resources that could improve outcomes.
Pilots' reluctance to declare emergencies frequently stems from misconceptions about getting into trouble with the FAA, despite both the FAA and AOPA actively encouraging declarations for safety.
Declaring an emergency primarily grants priority handling from ATC and does not automatically trigger severe legal penalties; organizations like AOPA provide legal counsel for post-declaration inquiries.
Pilots are urged to prepare mentally during preflight to declare emergencies if needed, and to regularly practice emergency procedures to effectively manage common issues like fuel exhaustion or post-maintenance failures.

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It has been said that the most painful accident is one that could have been prevented. That holds particularly true in aviation when a pilot’s failure to identify risk leads to a lack of situational awareness and poor decision making resulting in a fatality. This becomes obvious when you read the reports generated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)—you see the pilot’s actions and find yourself wondering, “Why didn’t the pilot declare an emergency and get priority handling from ATC?”

While declaring does not guarantee a way out of a bad situation, it can connect a pilot with more resources such as air traffic control, which because of the nature of the job may have a better grasp of the options available.