Meowing on Guard- can it be stopped?

Brad Z said:
FWIW- that is up to FCC to enforce, not FAA. Aviation Radio falls under Title 47, Part 87.
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FAA Has Decided To Look Into The Matter​

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has now taken notice and confirmed it is looking into the incident. As per the report from ABC News


abcnews.com

'Meow, meow': Pilots scolded after animal noises heard on air traffic control frequency

The meowing occurred over an air traffic control frequency at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on April 12.
abcnews.com abcnews.com


www.usatoday.com

Pilots heard meowing, barking in air traffic control audio. Listen

The pilots were told to act "professional" after they were caught making the noises that violated rules.
www.usatoday.com

I KNOW how much people here hate nypost, so I won't go there. Seems the FAA is "investigating". I can't find anything anywhere from any source that is accessible to duckduck about FCC even knowing it's happening, much less investigating, much much less - enforcing.

I'm so old, I have a RRTO license, once upon a time req by all pilots in the US. Seems to me, enforcement is going to be under the FAA hat. FCC is out to lunch from what the rest of the world says.
 
Barrett50 said:

FAA Has Decided To Look Into The Matter​

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has now taken notice and confirmed it is looking into the incident. As per the report from ABC News


abcnews.com

'Meow, meow': Pilots scolded after animal noises heard on air traffic control frequency

The meowing occurred over an air traffic control frequency at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on April 12.
abcnews.com abcnews.com


www.usatoday.com

Pilots heard meowing, barking in air traffic control audio. Listen

The pilots were told to act "professional" after they were caught making the noises that violated rules.
www.usatoday.com

I KNOW how much people here hate nypost, so I won't go there. Seems the FAA is "investigating". I can't find anything anywhere from any source that is accessible to duckduck about FCC even knowing it's happening, much less investigating, much much less - enforcing.

I'm so old, I have a RRTO license, once upon a time req by all pilots in the US. Seems to me, enforcement is going to be under the FAA hat. FCC is out to lunch from what the rest of the world says.
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Well the RRTO is issued by the FCC.

The FAA can’t decide to do anything. They are not authorized to enforce the regulations that govern the use of the radio. They may try to but it won’t go anywhere.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
Well the RRTO is issued by the FCC.

The FAA can’t decide to do anything. They are not authorized to enforce the regulations that govern the use of the radio. They may try to but it won’t go anywhere.
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They can punish pilots for being a safety hazard. Radios don't meow, people do.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
Well the RRTO is issued by the FCC.

The FAA can’t decide to do anything. They are not authorized to enforce the regulations that govern the use of the radio. They may try to but it won’t go anywhere.
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Most likely the FAA will work with the FCC to investigate. But ultimately, it will be FCC attorneys issuing notices of enforcement action.
 
A lot of barracks lawyering going on here.

5 seconds of Googling shows that the FAA and FCC will work together to investigate, with each levying punishments within their realm of authority. The FAA can pull your pilot certificate. The FCC can fine you and seize your equipment. Also the FBI can get involved and refer an incident to the US Attorney for criminal prosecution, with all 3 agencies supporting a joint investigation.

BTW all these procedures are already in place, and the FCC is already tasked with supporting the FAA with direction finding equipment upon request. Google Order 2050.22C appendix 2 to see the Interagency Task Force Agreement between the DOT/FAA, DOJ/FBI, and FCC laying it all out.
 
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Whelp, I can't say what the FCC is investigating, because I"m already on a short leash, and listing those things would get me a vacation. What I CAN say via my duckduck-foo is they are NOT in any way, shape, form, or factor looking at, investigating, researching, or otherwise the meow-gate. Or, if they are - it's on double secret probation kind of stuff that every news agency in the world can't find.

So - like I wrote, and like I wrote. The FAA is looking into it.

fini
 
Ed Haywood said:
I tuned to guard once flying past Tallahassee and heard the following:

"Aaaaaand Delta flight xxx, this is your captain speaking, we'll be pulling away from the gate soon. Weather enroute is looking ... wait what? Oh crap."
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I once heard a pilot give an *entire* cabin announcement on guard.

It was a woman. The guard police must have kept up the "Nice announcement, toots!" and "Hey honey, I'm going to Tulsa too, wanna meet up?" and all sorts of other nonsense for a good solid 10 minutes.

Timbeck2 said:
Thanks for proving my point Ryan. The last two to wash out were 36 and 32 respectively. One accepted it, the other is fighting it. They both claimed it wasn’t their fault and was the result of substandard training.

Don’t get me started on GenZ.
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36 and a trainee?!? Like, CTO already but training on a new position?
 
Brad Z said:
I'm going to come out and say it..."meowing" on guard ****es me off. I'd never say it on 121.5, as that one annoyed dude who retorts back just invites a dozen more meows. I'm sure I'll get that here too but at least you can't post on this forum anonymously.
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You're 100% correct on this. It's unprofessional and I'm embarrassed for our industry when I hear it. It's not funny, it's a travesty.
 
Ryan F. said:
You're 100% correct on this. It's unprofessional and I'm embarrassed for our industry when I hear it. It's not funny, it's a travesty.
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Well-stated, thank you.

Some may recall a 2023 thread with the amusing title "Gilligan's Island & Meowing." The following is an excerpt from one of my posts to that thread.

Most disturbingly, however, is the decline in professionalism within our industry, for which Radio Gato is but one sad symptom. This is not the spittle-spewing rant of a doddering geezer with a soiled diaper—it’s real, it’s happening, it’s widely recognized, and it is creating problems. People entrust us with their airplanes, their freight, their lives, the lives of their loved ones, all with the belief that we are professionals who will measure up to the level of trust placed in us. To think that they are trusting the very most precious things that they have to a clowder of clownish cats… Grim.​
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It's troubling to know that, three years on, this nonsense is not only still a problem, but one that has now been publicized by mainstream media.

I have a good friend who is the most senior F/O (25 years) on a narrow-body fleet with a major airline. Lifestyle choice, of course. But lately I've been nagging him to upgrade to captain, if for no other reason than the airline's need for its most experienced pilots to provide mentorship to its least experienced--and he is an excellent candidate for that role. His reply was, "what do you mean? I'm doing a lot more good by mentoring some of the captains that I fly with." He has stories.
 
How do two pilots in the cockpit agree that they're going to do this together? I wouldn't have the balls say hey Captain you got the flight controls I got the radios there's this thing I need to do. You're going to love it.

I would expect him to remove me from the sequence as soon as we landed and send a note to the chief pilots office.

Maybe it's just single pilot flying around in spam cans.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Even weirder that I am the voice of reason on this subject (or any subject).
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Thanks for stepping-up to be the voice of reason. However, there are those who advise us to NEVER talk to the media--it's a dice roll, and the dice are loaded. Y'all be careful out there.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
How do two pilots in the cockpit agree that they're going to do this together? I wouldn't have the balls say hey Captain you got the flight controls I got the radios there's this thing I need to do. You're going to love it.

I would expect him to remove me from the sequence as soon as we landed and send a note to the chief pilots office.

Maybe it's just single pilot flying around in spam cans.
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Just wait until the Captain is distracted, surreptitiously deselect guard on their audio panel, and...never mind. Keep an eye out for captains who sporadically scratch their ears furiously with their hind legs.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
How do two pilots in the cockpit agree that they're going to do this together? I wouldn't have the balls say hey Captain you got the flight controls I got the radios there's this thing I need to do. You're going to love it.

I would expect him to remove me from the sequence as soon as we landed and send a note to the chief pilots office.

Maybe it's just single pilot flying around in spam cans.
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No. It’s crews as well. I’ve never seen it in person. If it happens in my flight deck it won’t be a call to the CP. (although it’s what I would want) but a call to pro standard for a crew separation. That process is managed by pro stands and includes coordination with the chiefs office by the prostands guys. Keeps me from being the blue falcon but gets some corrective actions in place with the support of flight management and the union.

There have been terminations at legacies for this behavior. I think it’s probably very uncommon at this level but I could easily see it at the regional and corporate operation based on my experiences at those jobs.
 
asicer said:
Oh, I dunno. If you called "Clear of the runway, taxi to fuel island" versus "Clear of the runway, taxi back for straight out departure", I might choose a different taxiway so that we don't come nose to nose.
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clear of the runway also makes clear that I'm not on a go around or touch and go and that they can mentally subtract me from the air traffic in their mental picture until I call out that "N1245 taking runway 31, closed traffic"
 
Roger Wilco said:
Just wait until the Captain is distracted, surreptitiously deselect guard on their audio panel, and...never mind. Keep an eye out for captains who sporadically scratch their ears furiously with their hind legs.
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Does the CVR pick up the meowing?
 
I flew Florida to Dallas this weekend. A few meows and some guaarrrds on the way out. Pretty civilized on the way back. A few polite Riddle 123 you’re on guard but no guard Karen’s. Maybe this thread is having an impact.
 
My biggest problem with the whole meow thing is I hate cat people. Except Ukrainians. Ukrainians are cool.
 
For being an obscure requirement buried in a NOTAM from 2004, a lot more people seem to have heard of guard now that all the talk of meowing has been going around.
 
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