Radio and the phonetic alphabet
⏱ 12 min
Pilots and controllers spell with the ICAO phonetic alphabet:
Alfa · Bravo · Charlie · Delta · Echo · Foxtrot · Golf · Hotel · India · Juliett · Kilo · Lima · Mike · November · Oscar · Papa · Quebec · Romeo · Sierra · Tango · Uniform · Victor · Whiskey · X-ray · Yankee · Zulu
Numbers are said one by one; 3 is "tree", 5 is "fife", 9 is "niner". A Malaysian-registered aircraft 9M-ABC is "Niner Mike Alfa Bravo Charlie".
Common words: Roger (message received), Wilco (will comply), Affirm (yes), Negative (no), Say again, Standby.
Emergency transponder (squawk) codes: 7500 unlawful interference, 7600 radio failure, 7700 emergency. Spoken emergencies start with "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY"; urgent messages with "PAN-PAN".