Pilots scolded for meowing and barking over air traffic control radio

Two pilots appeared to make animal noises while communicating with each other near Reagan International Airport.

Pilots flying in the vicinity of the U.S. capital were recently caught meowing like cats at each other over their radios.

“You guys need to be professional pilots,” an air traffic controller apparently scolded them.

The reprimand was met with more meowing and a burst of dog-like barking.

The April 12 interaction was captured on the air traffic control audio app ATC.com from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which is just outside Washington, D.C.

“This is why you still fly an R.J.,” another voice chimed in.

An apparent aviation diss, “R.J.” likely stands for regional jet, which many newer pilots begin their careers flying on.

According to CNN, the pilots were using a radio frequency that’s reserved for emergency calls. CNN also reported that this was not the first time pilots have been captured making pet sounds over their radios.

In a statement to several media outlets, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said pilots are prohibited from engaging in non-essential conversations while flying below 10,000 feet, and that it investigates all potential regulatory violations.

The identities of the meowing and barking aviators remains unknown.

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was also the site of a deadly mid-air collision on Jan. 29, 2025, that claimed 67 lives when an American Airlines jet on final approach crashed into a U.S. army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River.

With files from CNN