FAA Probes Pilots' Meows, Barks on Airport Radio

Pilots operating near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport exchanged meows and barks over an air traffic control radio frequency on April 12, prompting a sharp rebuke from a controller and drawing a federal investigation into potential safety violations.

The audio recording, which surfaced online and quickly amassed millions of views on social media platforms, captures one pilot initiating the exchange with repeated "meow" sounds. Another responded with barks, continuing the playful noises despite the controller's interruption. "You guys need to be professional pilots," the controller said, according to the clip obtained from aviation audio sharing site ATC.com. The pilots persisted, leading the controller to add, "This is why you still fly an RJ," a reference to regional jets often flown by less experienced aviators. The exchange concluded with the controller remarking, "It was funny for the first five minutes."

The incident occurred on a monitored frequency, possibly the 121.5 MHz guard channel reserved for emergencies, where communications are expected to remain strictly operational. Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit nonessential conversations below...