Final week a video went viral and it’s been enjoyable to see the mainstream media protection attempt to cowl two pilots who had been heard making animal noises on the radio. There’s lots of contextual information and lore to know what occurred right here, so though the precise occasion actually isn’t value a information headline, it’s a good alternative to get into what truly occurred right here.
To start with, the audio has been posted in a number of locations with the implication that the 2 pilots had been making these noises on Washington Nationwide Airport’s frequency and {that a} controller then instructed them off. In truth, they had been talking on “Guard”, the worldwide aeronautical emergency frequency on 121.5 MHz. This channel is (theoretically) used for emergencies and misplaced contact: principally any scenario the place you don’t know what frequency the plane or native ATC are on.
The Guard frequency is monitored by ATC, search and rescue and different emergency providers. Most plane (within the US, all plane who’re succesful) have the frequency dialled in to keep up a “listening watch”.
A typical problem is that an plane is switching to a brand new frequency as they enter a brand new area and put it in unsuitable, or too early, and the brand new controller is unable to make contact. The controller will name for the plane on the emergency frequency to present the pilot the proper (or a special) frequency.
Equally, an plane can inadvertently enter airspace the place it shouldn’t be, for instance a non-public pilot flying in southern England whose autopilot died by chance wandering into the sting of Gatwick’s airspace with out permission, not that you realize anybody who by chance did that. The purpose is that Guard is the quickest option to speak to the plane with out realizing what frequency they’re dialled into.
I believe one of many causes the video refers to DCA is that the Washington DC space has among the most delicate and tightly protected airspace within the US and could be very quick to react to airspace incursions. Controllers will broadcast warnings on Guard to get the pilot’s consideration earlier than the scenario escalates and fighter jets are scrambled.
One other use of Guard is to broadcast that somebody has a caught mic, that’s, a pilot is unintentionally transmitting repeatedly on frequency, which blocks the frequency for everybody. The listening watch on Guard is on a second radio the place they don’t seem to be transmitting, thus they could hear the printed and realise that they should attempt to unstick their mic by urgent the push-to-talk button. Equally, it may alert different plane {that a} particular frequency is jammed and that they aren’t being heard.
A bit of bit tougher to elucidate is why some pilots meow on that frequency.
There’s a idea that the entire thing began with the meow joke in Tremendous Troopers. Within the film, Vermont state troopers attempt to slip the phrase meow right into a site visitors cease as many instances with out the motive force noticing.
This was in response to a question on Airline Pilot Boards: Sorry, however I bought to ask what’s all of the meowing on 121.5 all about
I’m fairly certain the genesis of the ‘meow’ factor was the film ‘Tremendous Troopers’. Watch the film for full comprehension, it’s truly fairly hilarious, particularly in a North American cultural context. However doing it on guard is BS. It was humorous the primary two or thrice, 20 years in the past.
Twenty years in the past places it to 2004, which does match up with Tremendous Troopers turning into a cult hit on DVD and would additionally clarify why it was predominantly a problem within the US. However I can’t truly reveal that it was taking place that early.
On PPRuNe there’s a 2007 thread on Abuse on 121.5. The multi-page thread complains about pilots swearing at controllers and different plane, asking for soccer scores and different inappropriate makes use of, and the guard police castigating anybody who makes use of the frequency inadvertently. There’s no point out of meow.
Now this can be a UK discussion board and probably meowing hadn’t but crossed the pond; nonetheless there’s one reference that appears to be about US utilization who’s irritated by “the chats on channel”. One other complains about “silly cock crow noises at daybreak wherever they’re”. In 9 pages of dialogue, there may be not a single point out of a meow.
The earliest reference I discovered on PPRuNe was in 2016, which incorporates two references to “animal noises”.
One other idea is that the meowing craze began in western Alaska. There’s a village known as Atmautluak within the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. In 2019, an Alaskan bush pilot posted on a Pilots of America thread I had heard of it however by no means truly heard it…”Meow”.
I used to fly to a spot known as Atmautluak, however on the radio it was typically known as At-Mao (second half pronounced like Chairman Mao, as a result of except you possibly can communicate Yupik it’s unattainable to truly pronounce) and in some unspecified time in the future it additional devolved into At-Meow, and ultimately it simply grew to become Meow — ‘Downwind touchdown South Meow’ ‘Last touchdown South Meow’ ‘Departing North Meow’. Finally customary radio protocol grew to become that when one known as it ‘Meow’ on the radio, everybody else on frequency was obligated to meow with probably the most obnoxious meows potential. This wasn’t one among two folks both, this was 10-15 airplanes on the identical frequency all meowing at one another. I even had a podium end through the Meow contest at one of many crew homes on a Saturday night time with my stunning rendition of ‘Cat in warmth Meow’, however I used to be beat out by the ‘Fats depressed cat meow’ and the ‘Horny Meow’ carried out with gusto by the one lady pilot who participated in our degenerate shenanigans.
This may clarify the way it expanded to the decrease 48 after which grew to become a joke on Guard, the one place the place you aren’t positively figuring out your plane when transmitting.
In the identical thread, meowing and guard police (who get a point out in each thread in regards to the misuse of Guard, going proper again to the 2007 PPRuNe thread) are handled as equally annoying:
Now, guard is so tousled with meows and guard police it’s rattling close to ineffective. I even heard a aircraft with an precise emergency who made a benign-sounding radio name to ATC solely to be jumped on by the guard police. As soon as everybody stopped saying ‘GUAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRD!’ he mentioned ‘I’M ON FIRE!’
The purpose is {that a} single transmission on Guard reaches each plane inside line-of-sight of any of hundreds of monitoring stations and plane, with no callsign required. The meow meme works as a result of different pilots chime in, simply as described by the Alaskan bush pilot. This turns into rage bait to the “guard police”, who then complain on frequency in regards to the misuse of the frequency, which appears to be hilarious to the meowers.
From 2019 onwards, just about each dialogue of misuse of Guard features a grievance about meowing. In October 2025, Airfacts Journal calls it a nationwide embarrassment in an article blaming the issue on social media:
Then there are the pilots who play random sound results and music into their microphones. Or those who make the identical drained jokes about Delta pilots and turbulence PIREPs. Or, worst of all, the meowing. Make. It. Cease.
Now we’ve nearly the entire context we want for the viral video of the week.
The audio comes from LiveATC.web, a streaming and archive service that covers over a thousand feeds from radios close to airports around the globe. The recording might be confirmed there as having taken place on Guard on the twelfth of April 2026.
It’s not clear who initially remoted it or who added the video from FlightRadar implying that it came about at DCA, however the combo hit the mainstream after it was posted by Turbine Traveller, the place it obtained over 1.4 million views.
Within the video above, we hear some meows after which a voice breaks in, irritated. “You guys, you must be skilled pilots.” He’s answered with extra meowing and barking.
What makes this humorous is the reducing blow: “For this reason you continue to fly an RJ”. RJ right here refers to “regional jets”. The response is considerably sadder and extra subdued meowing, as if the jab landed.
It is a career-progression insult. It’s frequent for US industrial pilots to spend a number of years flying a regional jet earlier than transferring to a significant airline. There’s no method that the pilot may know who was meowing; it was purely an insult to their professionalism.
Nonetheless, the insult could have hit residence. Aviation a2z studies that two of the plane have been recognized as CRJs flying for American Eagle and Delta Connection. The majors don’t function CRJs and each of these airways are regional subsidiaries.
The purpose that meowing is frequent with RJ pilots is expanded upon in a current touch upon One Mile at a Time Pilots “Meow” & “Ruff,” Anger Air Site visitors Management: “This Is Why You Nonetheless Fly An RJ”:
For no matter cause, some pilots amuse themselves by randomly making a cat ‘meow’ sound on 121.5. It’s nearly like a verbal meme, and I hear it not less than as soon as per week. As soon as somebody does it, normally a number of others echo it again. It’s nearly all the time the youthful RJ pilots. How do I do know that? 1) You NEVER hear a ‘meow’ (actually – by no means) when flying a redeye flight (RJ schedules don’t do overnights) and, 2) usually, after these jokers have switched their transmitter from radio #1 to radio #2 to go ‘meow’, they overlook to change it again. Bear in mind, they’re nonetheless listening to each. So, when ATC provides them a frequency change (over radio #1) they reply – however nonetheless transmit on radio #2 – which everybody hears. And the callsign is all the time an RJ firm (‘Brickyard’ or ‘Envoy’ or ‘Skywest’, for instance).
I ought to notice that, because the above commenter additionally factors out, there’s no cause to imagine this was an Air Site visitors Controller who made the remark. It’s more likely to have been one other pilot (see additionally guard police).
The video hitting the mainstream pushed the FAA into making a remark.
FAA rules prohibit pilots from partaking in non-essential conversations once they’re under 10,000 toes altitude. Conversations should be associated to the protected operation of the plane. The FAA investigates all conditions the place pilots could have violated any regulation.
That is the sterile cockpit rule, which forbids all non-essential actions and dialogue within the cockpit throughout essential phases of flight.
Extra pertinent is the FCC (Federal Communications Fee) who regulate interstate and worldwide communications by radio (and tv, wire, satellite tv for pc and cable) throughout the US. In 2017, the FCC acknowledged that they’ll “aggressively implement” the principles in opposition to non-emergency use of 121.5, with most fines of $19,246 for a single offence and $144,344 for ongoing offences, in addition to the potential for legal costs. They launched an identical assertion in Might 2025. However I couldn’t discover any reference of a pilot ever being prosecuted for inappropriate utilization of guard by both the FAA or the FCC.
The primary barrier is, because the pilot on the video says, professionalism. Maybe it is usually a query of what’s tolerated. Many pilots report that the most important airways fireplace pilots for meowing on guard, on the premise that the pilot is demonstrating an absence of judgement.
The FAA have already commented that they won’t prosecute based mostly on third-party recordings, which is what LiveATC provide. There’s no case except they’ll choose up a recording from an ATC unit or different official supply. Nonetheless, the truth that this has made mainstream information could effectively imply that extra of an effort is made to construct a case.
Or the entire thing will fade in per week with the meowing carrying on because it has for the previous ten years.
If you happen to all reply within the feedback with meow, I’m simply going to imagine Concern of Touchdown has quietly grow to be a regional jet crew lounge.
