121.5 is NOT a Joke!

D

Davidl13

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
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Papaco
Something is broken on 121.5.


What should be the most protected frequency in aviation—the emergency frequency—is being treated like a playground. Noise, jokes, sound effects, and commentary have become common enough that many pilots are turning guard off entirely just to maintain focus.


That should concern every one of us.


121.5 exists for one purpose: safety.
It is monitored by the FAA, NORAD, and pilots across the system. It is there for the moment when something goes wrong.


Every unnecessary transmission increases the chance that a real distress call is missed, stepped on, or delayed.


This isn’t funny. It isn’t harmless. It’s reckless.


If the pilot sitting next to you is participating in this behavior, say something—to them, and if necessary, to their employer. Silence enables it.


And responding to it over the air only makes it worse.


The fix is simple: discipline.


Don’t engage.
Don’t add to it.
Use guard only when it matters.


Because one day, it might matter to you.


This must stop.
 
I read this a lot here and elsewhere but in my somewhat limited experience (about 270 hours) when I monitor 121.5 pretty much all I hear is communication about missed handoffs and even that’s somewhat rare, it’s mostly silence. I’ve actually never heard a meow or other bullsh*t on frequency…
 
T Bird said:
I read this a lot here and elsewhere but in my somewhat limited experience (about 270 hours) when I monitor 121.5 pretty much all I hear is communication about missed handoffs and even that’s somewhat rare, it’s mostly silence. I’ve actually never heard a meow or other bullsh*t on frequency…
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Listen long enough, especially on some long cross countries and you'll hear it eventually. From what various pilots report it seems like it varies quite a bit by region and time of day. If I'm on a trip I maybe something every 1-4 hours but not always... I chuckle a bit and it doesn't bother me. Others are saying they hear it a lot more and it's bothersome... so I guess YMMV.
 
T Bird said:
I read this a lot here and elsewhere but in my somewhat limited experience (about 270 hours) when I monitor 121.5 pretty much all I hear is communication about missed handoffs and even that’s somewhat rare, it’s mostly silence. I’ve actually never heard a meow or other bullsh*t on frequency…
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Where do you typically fly? Do you always monitor as a practice?
 
Dana said:
It's not that it's a joke, but it has been discussed here ad nauseam.
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Just because your are nauseous, doesn’t mean you should throw up here…
dmspilot said:
The "It's not A. It's not B. It's C" pattern appears twice in one post
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121.5 — This Isn’t a Debate


The response to the original post has proven the point.


Some deflect—arguing about AI, motives, or anything else that avoids the issue. Others respond with a “meow,” reinforcing exactly the behavior being called out.


That reaction is the problem.


121.5 is not a place for commentary, jokes, or social signaling. It is an emergency and hailing frequency. When a pilot loses a primary radio, 121.5 is often the first place they go to re-establish communications. It is a safety net—for pilots, passengers, and everyone sharing the airspace.


It is also where ATC will go to find you if they need to reach you—and why you should be monitoring it, not turning it off out of frustration.


Treating it as entertainment degrades that safety net.


This is not harmless. It is not funny. It is a cultural failure.


And culture is something we control.


If you know someone participating in this behavior, say something. If it continues, elevate it—through their employer or the FAA as appropriate. Accountability matters.


Because this isn’t about opinions or personalities.


It’s about whether a critical safety system is there when someone needs it.


This isn’t a joke.
 
I monitor 121.5 on every X/C flight which I fly IFR 99% of the time. There was even an FDC NOTAM after 9/11 that made it a requirement if able. Haven't looked to see if it is even still in effect but the habit was cemented so I do it to this very day. That said, I've flown mainly in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, with occasional trips in the Mid-West every year. Although you're right in that it shouldn't be happening, it's really a nothing burger in my experience and hardly a threat to safety. I'm way more concerned with extraneous radio calls (taxi calls, AAITPA, etc) tying up precious freq time on CTAF at my busy uncontrolled home field than an occasional meow on Guard. YMMV....
 
Davidl13 said:
Just because your are nauseous, doesn’t mean you should throw up here…


121.5 — This Isn’t a Debate


The response to the original post has proven the point.


Some deflect—arguing about AI, motives, or anything else that avoids the issue. Others respond with a “meow,” reinforcing exactly the behavior being called out.


That reaction is the problem.


121.5 is not a place for commentary, jokes, or social signaling. It is an emergency and hailing frequency. When a pilot loses a primary radio, 121.5 is often the first place they go to re-establish communications. It is a safety net—for pilots, passengers, and everyone sharing the airspace.


It is also where ATC will go to find you if they need to reach you—and why you should be monitoring it, not turning it off out of frustration.


Treating it as entertainment degrades that safety net.


This is not harmless. It is not funny. It is a cultural failure.


And culture is something we control.


If you know someone participating in this behavior, say something. If it continues, elevate it—through their employer or the FAA as appropriate. Accountability matters.


Because this isn’t about opinions or personalities.


It’s about whether a critical safety system is there when someone needs it.


This isn’t a joke.
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This post was definitely written by a human, em dashes and all.
 
wrt to claims that crap on 121.5 is "hardly a threat to safety": well, for sure and for certain, it doesn't enhance safety at all. Not one bit.
 
Bob Noel said:
wrt to claims that crap on 121.5 is "hardly a threat to safety": well, for sure and for certain, it doesn't enhance safety at all. Not one bit.
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Never claimed it did but please point me to the instance where someone meowing directly contributed to or caused a safety incident. I stand by my assertion that there are far more egregious instances of radio etiquette breaches than some knuckle head meowing on Guard.
 
You know, I have monitored guard every flight I made so far. I have never once heard anyone say anything on it that wasn't related to ATC. Maybe the jokesters don't fly early on weekend mornings or weekday evenings, but I think you may be exaggerating things.

I doubt that guard is so cluttered up with meows and jokes that people with legitimate uses for it cannot get a word in edgewise even in places that aren't Nowheresville, Midwest. If anything, the meows and jokes mean people are listening to guard. I personally don't use guard for that and don't plan to unless I have an emergency, but I don't think the people who do are causing planes to fall from the sky or creating an egregious safety hazard.

ETA: It is entirely possible to be a real person and still make AI generated posts. I know a lot of LLMs try to approximate human speech characteristics, but they all come out just a little weird, like the uncanny valley but for words.
 
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In my experience, the buffoonery seems to always follow someone transmitting on Guard in error, such as someone making pattern calls, calling Unicom for gas and ice or, two days ago, some airliner tying up Guard for a good minute giving his pax the pre-landing weather, seatbelt-sign-is-coming-on, thanks-for-flying-with-us (we know you have a choice), blah blah blah. I can’t personally think of the last time a Guard cat just popped up out of nowhere. Not saying it’s right but, ironically, one could argue the behavior helps pilots check twice before transmitting.

And as noted, yeah, the risk of harm probably exists but it feels more theoretical than actual. Can anyone cite a case where a meow blocked a Mayday (or even a frequency change) and caused a problem?

It’s annoying but I’m not sure it’s as dangerous as implied.
 
The only time I've heard it was on my way to MTH. Over the ocean. Fairly certain it was a vision jet I was racing.

Granted I don't often monitor it because others are required to.
 
T Bird said:
I’ve actually never heard a meow or other bullsh*t on frequency…
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That's likely due to your altitude. Come up to the flight levels, where your line-of-sight reception range is significantly longer, and you'll hear it regularly.

Another problem is that when it is actually being used for a legitimate purpose, every transmission is met with multiple, "Gaaaaurd!" responces.
 
ColinD said:
Post reads like some facebook AI slop.
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He is posting it on Facebook too, and got about the same response. Must be a real passion!
Screenshot 2026-05-19 at 8.36.08 AM.png

Is it a problem, not to me. It's annoying, but not anymore than "anyone in the pattern, please advise".

Lindberg said:
This post was definitely written by a human, em dashes and all.
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That's funny. At work, they just told us to look for excessive dashes in resumes. ChatGPT loves to add them!
 
Lowflynjack said:
He is posting it on Facebook too, and got about the same response. Must be a real passion!
View attachment 152131

Is it a problem, not to me. It's annoying, but not anymore than "anyone in the pattern, please advise".


That's funny. At work, they just told us to look for excessive dashes in resumes. ChatGPT loves to add them!
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I love dashes. Em dashes, en dashes, hyphens. I use them regularly in my writing and have for decades. But I wouldn't know how to type an em dash on this website if you paid me to. AI uses them all the time.
 
Lindberg said:
I love dashes. Em dashes, en dashes, hyphens. I use them regularly in my writing and have for decades. But I wouldn't know how to type an em dash on this website if you paid me to. AI uses them all the time.
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Yeah, I use them all the time at work and have for many years :(

But that's not the only thing that screams 'AI' about the post. The whole writing style is GPTish. LinkedIn is full of this stuff now too and it all reads the same.
 
David13, If you are a living, breathing human, just to understand all the falderal search for "meow." And welcome to the forum. We're a bunch of pilots who raze, argue, and joke around. Don't take it personally.

No one here disagrees with your opinion. You inadvertently put your foot in a well-known complaint of all of us--the flippant misuse of guard.
 
Domenick said:
David13, If you are a living, breathing human, just to understand all the falderal search for "meow." And welcome to the forum. We're a bunch of pilots who raze, argue, and joke around. Don't take it personally.

No one here disagrees with your opinion. You inadvertently put your foot in a well-known complaint of all of us--the flippant misuse of guard.
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He's not a bot; he's been here for ten years. He's just using AI to write his rants (and not reviewing the many prior threads on this topic). The differences between the posts he writes and his copypasta are stark.
 
I tend to not monitor it because it is mostly cat noises, but my part time SIC does (he is a major carrier captain, and guard is part of his company SOPs) and last week he picked up this LSA fuel starvation shortly after takeoff emergency from 2 states away: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/570442
 
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