Have you ever been mid-flight and wondered what’s going on in the cockpit?
A United Airlines passenger was lucky enough to find out.
The passenger took to the r/unitedairlines forum on Reddit to dish about the gossip they accidentally overheard on a recent flight.
“For 2.5 hours, I listened to all the calls, prechecks, and the pilot and copilot talk to each other about their lives, kids, random terrain we were flying over, previous incidents they’ve encountered that may or may not have gone unreported, and even dropping a few curse words during the flight,” the original poster wrote.
“Is this a common occurrence or a stroke of good luck? The aircraft was an Airbus A319.”
What this passenger encountered wasn’t just luck; it’s something specific to United flights.
Without realizing, while flipping through the in-flight entertainment options, this flyer must’ve landed on Channel 9, an audio air traffic control channel available on select planes that allows passengers to listen in on conversations being had between pilots and controllers while in the air.
The Post reached out to United for comment.
Who needs a movie when you can just tune into the cockpit tea?
Many commenters chimed in, adding further context to this mysterious channel.
Some mentioned how turning on the channel, when it’s available, can be useful to learn about delays and weather issues first.
“It used to be a near universal thing. Every flight. I guess as in flight entertainment became more complex and diversified it sort of faded from common practice. That’s great some pilots still do it. I used to love it. Occasionally one would even get important information before it was announced in the cabin. Like delays, flight diversions weather issues, etc.”
“I used to listen to Channel 9 while I read – it was sometimes kind of interesting to hear and on trips with a lot of turbulence, reassured me to know all was cool, or that we’re changing heading/altitude for a better ride. Also nice to get a heads-up, like heavy chop 20 minutes out, good time to use the head before seat belt signs were lit…”
Others shared how they, too, accidentally listened in and were shocked at what actually goes on behind-the-scenes.
“I had that happen years ago. It was post 9/11 and the mics were keyed for not just ATC transmissions but for intra-cockpit transmissions. Listened the whole time. Was the day I realized that some pilots do not take the sterile cockpit rule seriously. I was amazed.”
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