The pilots, from the sounds of it, seemed to be having some fun.
“Meow,” one pilot said over the radio. “Meow,” a second pilot responded. Air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, it appeared, were not feeling feline.
“You guys, you need to be professional pilots,” one air traffic controller appeared to scold.
“Meow meow meow meow,” one of the pilots replied.
“Ruff! Ro-ro-ro-ro-ro!” the other pilot barked.
Audio of the exchange, which happened on Sunday, was captured on the air traffic control radio app ATC.com, and shared widely online. Some commenters confessed that they, too, enjoyed communicating in cat speak (though usually to their cats and in the privacy of their homes). Others called it a moment of levity in an industry that is infamous for its stressful conditions, while some critics said they found the behavior on a live broadcast childish and possibly dangerous.
The interaction happened on Air Traffic Control frequency on Sunday at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, outside the nation’s capital, according to ATC.com.
A spokeswoman for an authority that manages the airport said that they did not have any information on reports of the interaction. The identities of the pilots and the exact circumstances of their flights were unclear, and the Federal Aviation Administration does not validate third-party recordings.
But the agency said in a statement on Wednesday that it was investigating the reported interaction. Regulations prohibited pilots from “nonessential conversation” when below 10,000 feet in altitude, it said.
“Conversations must be related to the safe operation of the aircraft,” the F.A.A. said, adding that it would investigate “all situations where pilots may have violated any regulation.”
Commenters in online forums for pilots and air traffic controllers have in the past reported hearing meowing in some radio frequencies, such as the “guard” frequency, a channel reserved for emergencies.
Some in the aviation world enjoyed a disapproving dig from one person who could be heard in audio of the interaction.
“This is why you’re still flying RJ,” the person seems to say, in an apparent reference to regional airliners. Some pilots begin their careers flying for regional airlines before progressing to flying larger aircraft for major airlines.
That rebuke was met with more meows.
Isabella Kwai is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news and other trends.
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