Interceptions on the rise

[ATC Watcher]

After the mediatised MQ-9 Drone interception by the Russian SU-27s that led to the loss of the drone, another one this time by Eurofighters on a Tu-134 and an An-12 close to Estonia,https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/18/world/nato-fighter-jets-russian-interception-estonia-intl-hnk
We see a large increase in inteceptions lately ,and the chances of some going bad , also to civil aircraft flying in the area is increasing. In times of tensions, military get nervous, Time again to monitor 121.5 with volume up I would say.

[Magplug]

'Mediatised'..... What language is that?

The number of times I have departed London in a busy R/T environment to have ATC comms blocked out by 'Practice Pan' so have turned down 121.5..... I have lost count. It is a flight safety hazard. The 787 even has a 'feature' where whenever 121.5 is in the window on box 2 it is automatically selected regardless of individual comms-box selections..... you can only turn your individual volumes down.

Historically 'Practice Pans' seem to have some charmed existence that prevents this flight safety hazard being banned by the CAA.

[serf]

'Mediatised'..... What language is that?

The number of times I have departed London in a busy R/T environment to have ATC comms blocked out by 'Practice Pan' so have turned down 121.5..... I have lost count. It is a flight safety hazard. The 787 even has a 'feature' where whenever 121.5 is in the window on box 2 it is automatically selected regardless of individual comms-box selections..... you can only turn your individual volumes down.

Historically 'Practice Pans' seem to have some charmed existence that prevents this flight safety hazard being banned by the CAA.


Didn’t there used to be separate frequency for ‘practice pan’ ?

[Central Scrutinizer]

Flying around Europe I've lost count of the number of times I've had to stop monitoring 121.5 because of all the "noise" going on there. And it's not the "practice PANs" that bother me, it's mostly the "meeow"s and "Franco"s or someone lost between frequency changes who needs like 20 different back and forth interactions to get onto their correct frequency.

I just keep it in the background but at a much lower volume than COM1.

[Magplug]

Didn’t there used to be separate frequency for ‘practice pan’ ?
Yes..... 243.0 and we did not disturb any civil traffic :):):):)
​​​​​​​

[excrab]

I don’t really see why practise pans on guard on box 2 are anymore distracting than other aircraft talking to ATC on box 1, but no one says “I turn comm 1 down coming out of Heathrow because London ATC is distracting”. As has been pointed out most of the chatter on 121.5 is airliners who are on the wrong frequency or farm yard noises. On a busy summer weekend I’d be surprised if there were more than ten practice pan calls a day with U.K. D&D, and auto triangulation makes them far quicker than they used to be. Midweek in the winter there will hardly be any.
unfortunately, those who have to pay for their own training rather than having it paid for by the military also have to practise the procedures, without the benefit of UHF comms paid for by the tax payer.

[albatross]

Try flying over the Persian Gulf 121.5 seems to be the primary comms freq.

[serf]

Yes..... 243.0 and we did not disturb any civil traffic :):):):)


​​​​​​​close….245.1

[G-DAVE]

close….245.1

243.

An easy way to remember it is that it’s 121.5 x 2.

[Herod]

An easy way to remember it is that it’s 121.5 x 2.

That's why it was chosen, back in the forties I think. IIRC correctly, the SARBE training frequency was 243.5? A long time ago; the last SARBE homing training I did was back in 1970.

[ATC Watcher]

'Mediatised'..... What language is that? .
It is called " Franglais" :E
The number of times I have departed London in a busy R/T environment to have ATC comms blocked out by 'Practice Pan' so have turned down 121.5..... I have lost count. It is a flight safety hazard. The 787 even has a 'feature' where whenever 121.5 is in the window on box 2 it is automatically selected regardless of individual comms-box selections..... you can only turn your individual volumes down.
Historically 'Practice Pans' seem to have some charmed existence that prevents this flight safety hazard being banned by the CAA
"Practice Pans" are a British curse , known for decades and indeed a flight safeyty issuse, Same for the Spanish helicopter operator using it in the Gulf of Biscay. Why nobdy seems to be able to do anything about after al thsoe years it is still a mystery to me too. But you're unlikely to hear them East of 015E where the reent new hot military activity is taking place.
Was not aware of the 767 feature, good one as most interceptions of civil aircraft are due to primary comms losses .

[Lookleft]

I have never understood the thinking behind doing a "meow" on 121.5. Is it supposed to be funny?

[Atlantic Explorer]

I have never understood the thinking behind doing a "meow" on 121.5. Is it supposed to be funny?

It is rather concerning that these so-called Professionals are sitting up front in charge of an aeroplane responsible for hundreds of lives. I just don’t get it.

[ORAC]

https://www.raf.mod.uk/sites/raf-beta/assets/File/95E50AF2_D570_FF5F_478C01766B2F43C8(1).pdf

https://www.getintoflying.com/distress-and-diversion-cell-a-practical-guide-to-practice-pan-and-training-fix/

[SWBKCB]

Being discussed here as well

https://www.pprune.org/flying-instructors-examiners/651480-practice-pans-guard.html

[Zombywoof]

It is rather concerning that these so-called Professionals are sitting up front in charge of an aeroplane responsible for hundreds of lives. I just don’t get it.Or maybe they're sitting in a backyard with a beer in one hand and a handheld VHF in the other.

[punkalouver]

I just keep it in the background but at a much lower volume than COM1.
That, in my mind, is the best solution. Temporary volume reduction but still audible......along with getting in the habit of occasionally checking the squelch for a quarter second.

[Magplug]

Turning down 121.5 in an airliner is normally a kneejerk reaction to almost missing an ATC call. The difference between turning the volume down to a barely audible level and turning it off completely is difficult to judge when done in haste. This so often results in selecting it off.... and then forgetting about it so when ATC or other aircraft try to call you on 121.5 they get no response. The next thing you know is that a fighter is airborne to intercept you.

Making 'Practice Pans' in an island as small as the UK where predominantly GPS equipped GA aircraft fly around is an utterly pointless exercise that has safety consequences for commercial aircraft. If you are getting bored flying around at 2000' then go and look at something more interesting but stay off 121.5 unless you have a real emergency.

[ATC Watcher]

Backgound noise on Guard is real nuisance, we all agree . But it should be just that , nuisance, I am surprised to see that reactions here seem to focus on reasons why not to monitor Guard rather than acknowledging , besides being mandatory ,the safety benefit . Especially today with NATO and our Russian Friends on the edge in large airpace all around Ukraine. Not a good time to be in comm loss or making navigation deviation ( e.g having a route on your FMS different from that was on your original flight plan.)