Phonetic alphabet fouls

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pgthsg@reddit

Once I heard my girlfriend on the phone saying “I as in… Isis”

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Captain_Nipples@reddit

I had a buddy who had a malamute named "Isis" before we knew what ISIS even was.. also wasnt that the organization's name in Archer?

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theglobalnomad@reddit

ATIS Information Hezbollah, weather observation 1453 Zulu, winds 150 at 5, visibility 10, sky clear, alhamdulillah...

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Empty-Lobster6249@reddit

A as in Allahu Akhbar will definitely get everyone on the freq puckered up

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N714EB, would often transmit the “Echo-Bravo” as “Easily-Broken”, “Early-Bird”, “EasterBunny”, and many other comical quips. Not specifically egregious, but humorous to hear and actually made me take note of the aircraft’s presence.

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Language_mapping@reddit

“I have information uh… indigo.”

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fluentInPotato@reddit

I'm a mechanic, and I made this fuckup for YEARS. Don't know why I it took so long to get India into my head.

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BiggieYT2@reddit

Worked at an auto parts store

“T as in.. titties… double A as in… alcohols anonymous”

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No_Plantain7250@reddit

Unicorn

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justcallme3nder@reddit

"M as in Mancy"

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Thick_Comedian_6707@reddit

It’s my crisis vest, Mr. Fat face.

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ThatLooksRight@reddit

One of my favorite episodes of any show in tv history. Skytanic is genius from start to finish.

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capn_starsky@reddit

For the last time, it’s not hydrogen! It’s helium!!!!!

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fighterpilot248@reddit

“What do you not understand about it??”

“The core concept! Obviously!!”

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ThatLooksRight@reddit

These things explode, Lana!

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1z0z5@reddit

“Uh hello? Airplanes? Yeah it’s blimps. You win. Bye!”

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ZappBrannigansLaw@reddit

MAWP

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homeinthesky@reddit

LAAANNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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ZappBrannigansLaw@reddit

Danger zone

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ZappBrannigansLaw@reddit

WHAT?!?!?!?!

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homeinthesky@reddit

It’s just like Burt Reynolds! You know?!? In GATOR!!!!!????!!!!

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unable_compliance@reddit

Literally watched this episode last night

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mustang__1@reddit

Over.

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Aviator8989@reddit

You of all people, Ray…

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N546RV@reddit

“The first letter is B.”
“Bravo.”
“Thanks.”

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polale@reddit

Never have I ever said Unicorn on frequency....

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Thick_Comedian_6707@reddit

I say Umbrella for some reason. No idea why…

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FlyingScot1050@reddit

I've been on the Charlie ramp with information Unicorn before as well

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Mikofthewat@reddit

I heard “Urethra” once

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GlockAF@reddit

Yet… Someday that intrusive thought will take hold, and…

Now you’re going to think about it every time you say ~~~unicorn~~~ uniform on the radio, aren’t you?

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-ChubbySpud@reddit

ATC here… Y for Yancy fml

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EliteEthos@reddit

I struggled for a bit when I was a cop and a pilot. The cop job used a non-NATO phonetic alphabet. I had a bad habit of using the wrong ones in the wrong circumstances.

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CannonAFB_unofficial@reddit

Dude it still cracks me up to the day to watch cops and the like on TV completely butcher it. It’s like watching super troopers. I immediately lose some respect.

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EliteEthos@reddit

The NATO alphabet? It’s so foreign for a lot of them. It’s a bigger issue for prior military types to learn the new type.

We had air units at that department and the pilot would obviously be using NATO while monitoring local stuff while the guy next to him would be monitoring and coordinating with the cop lingo. It was wild to listen to. Most pilots would tune out the cop radios and focus on flying.

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CannonAFB_unofficial@reddit

Reading this a little deeper, I didn’t realize some police don’t use NATO for heritage, to not sound military. Whatever. My bad, I had no idea.

Doesn’t change my thoughts though lol. Still sounds goofy as fuck to say I just got clearance in newspaper six six six bacon apostrophe.

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Freakishly_Tall@reddit

Yeah, wouldn't want to sound too "military"...

< glares motherfuckerly at military-surplus equipment and obscene levels of weaponry >

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EliteEthos@reddit

I don’t disagree. Happens in both flying and cop work…

If you don’t know what to say, just ask in plain English. Fumbling stuff and making up new stuff oddly makes it worse IMO.

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willreadforbooks@reddit

I was so annoyed when I learned the LAPD (at least in novels) does not use the NATO alphabet. Like, why??

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bamfcoco1@reddit

All I can think of is the historical COD games, “THEY’RE TAKING ABEL!!!!”

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EliteEthos@reddit

Same area I was a cop. Much of the same codes.

Common answer is “tradition”

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aftcg@reddit

In the fire service, we used NATO letters. Let that resonate lol

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willpc14@reddit

I worked in a county where the FDs used town names and plain English for everything. PD, who were talking to the same dispatchers on a different frequency, where using town numbers as identifiers and 10-codes. It's genuinely baffling trying to listen to the radio on an open scan in that county.

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EliteEthos@reddit

Yeah but you’re second responders… so… let that resonate.

/s

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aftcg@reddit

Ha! That's a good one! I haven't heard that one yet! Glad you can understand the fire cop rivalry - even if you guys cheat at the softball games by getting us too drunk to play worth a crap. Cheers!

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EliteEthos@reddit

Strategy is working!

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ljthefa@reddit

I watch The Rookie and they don't use the NATO alphabet and it makes me want to scream

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WhenWillIBeAPilot@reddit (OP)

Non-ICAO alphabet

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EliteEthos@reddit

Seems you’re being pedantic…

https://www.nato.int/en/about-us/nato-history/history-by-theme/symbols-of-nato/nato-phonetic-alphabet

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WhenWillIBeAPilot@reddit (OP)

Gimme a break, I didn’t know its history

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EliteEthos@reddit

Then why are you correcting what I said?

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Propjockey96@reddit

Q as in cucumber. 🤦

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Yoghurt42@reddit

T as in pterodactyl.

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Freakishly_Tall@reddit

Don't be silly. It's T as in tsunami.

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Guruchill@reddit

P as in Phoebe

H as in hoebe

O as in oebe

E as in ebe

B as in b-be

and E as in… ‘ello there, mate!

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TangoMyCharlie@reddit

Q as in queue

C as in cue

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thecloudcities@reddit

E as in ewe

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BlowFish-w-o-Hootie@reddit

F as in Few.

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bamfcoco1@reddit

G as in Gnaw

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bamfcoco1@reddit

Dude I was talking to a sassy lady from the south on the phone one day. I spelled something out for her correctly and I shit you not, in her read back she said “U….as in….onion rangs”

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KaHOnas@reddit

Look up Barenaked Ladies - Crazy ABCs for some winners.

Link for those of you with Apple Music.

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WhenWillIBeAPilot@reddit (OP)

Funny thing is they have a pilot in their band. Look him up “barenakedpilot” on IG

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Fake_Pilot@reddit

Anyone else say information echo^echo ?

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experimental1212@reddit

Five hundred hot dog

And he kept saying it...in a exorbitantly enthusiastic tone of voice....

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Accurate-Indication8@reddit

Yankme instead of yankee.

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yearsofpractice@reddit

“L… Elvis?”

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JimTheJerseyGuy@reddit

Everyone once in a while I will have some customer service person try to read back my information to me (which I’ve given phonetically in good pilot fashion) and the words they invariably chose are just stellar.

Some memorable ones: “occasional”, “stupid”, “baloney”, and “karma” (but they meant it for C).

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cluelessredditor12@reddit

D for Derrick 😂

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SombraMonkey@reddit

Remember November.

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Mad_Rooster_7164@reddit

Well, I remember remember the fifth at least.

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Mad_Rooster_7164@reddit

Heard N123CC announce as “November 1 2 3 Charlie Chocolate”.

I thought it was fun.

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--Bolter--@reddit

My club has 2 RV12s and both of their tail numbers end in XXXVA.

The first time I flew one I said “XXX Vans Air” on CTAF and immediately facepalmed

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VolubleWanderer@reddit

I had a plane at my flight school which ended in 1SB so it was constantly called 1 Sweeto Burrito by ATC.

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Frothyleet@reddit

Had a plane? Was it retired? Did someone say... "that's a wrap on 1 sweeto burrito?"

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FvKuR0@reddit

I hate how hard I laughed at this.

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VolubleWanderer@reddit

Had a plane is a poor choice of words in this subreddit. It’s probably still there I just haven’t gone back.

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y2khardtop1@reddit

Not ATC but I recently had an overseas customer service agent with American Airlines and she had her own made-up phonetic alphabet…..it was a painful conversation. What I hear more regularly on ATC is Banana (for my Bonanza)

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Prof_Slappopotamus@reddit

Ugh. I was dealing with Comcast one time and trying to spell something out for them. "Foxtrot, uniform, Charlie". "SIR YOU ARE GOING TOO FAST, I HAVE F AS IN FURIOUS, O AS IN OCTOPUS" click

I can deal with ESL, but this shit was worse than it had any excuse to be.

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Mispelled-This@reddit

Tower: N123AB, traffic is a Banana on left base. Oops, I mean Bonanza!

Bonanza: Did you call me a Banana?

Tower: Nope, definitely not.

Me: N123AB has the Banana in sight!

Tower: N123AB, follow the Banana, #2 cleared to land.

Bonanza: You did it again!

Tower: Nope, definitely not.

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y2khardtop1@reddit

That is the exact conversation

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ImmaZoni@reddit

J as in Jalapeno

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odinsen251a@reddit

Helo, Wolf, Motel, Mango, Violet, Gecko, Boxcar, Cuneiform...

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BealeStAviator@reddit

Z as in Zaboomafoo

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Beavis_777_IAH@reddit

Z as in xylophone

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BealeStAviator@reddit

“It's like X wasn't given enough to do, so they had to promise it more. Okay, you don't start a lot of words, but we'll give you a co-starring role in tic-tac-toe. And you will be associated with hugs and kisses. And you will mark the spot. And you will make writing Christmas easier. And incidentally, you will start xylophone. Are you happy, you fuckin' X?!”

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ithrewakidinthewell@reddit

I once had someone say "Movember" for M

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ljthefa@reddit

All i know is C is for Cookie.

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Face88888888@reddit

That’s good enough for me.

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Kseries2497@reddit

When issuing the ATIS we could usually get a controller to say "ATIS October" on frequency with enough background chatter. Unicorn is also a classic.

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MaybeBowtie@reddit

Surprisingly none. But I did call tower “ground” today lol, but I still made the right call tho. Also have said left final a couple times

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agm115@reddit

The ATIS voice for several Naval Air Stations gives what sounds like “Information Elpfa”. To this day I have never figured out if it’s Alpha or Delta, to the point that I (and several others) would pass it on interflight as “Information Alpha-Delta”

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TheSkyFlier@reddit

For a while I used to constantly remind myself that it wasn’t Ligma…

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StarlightLifter@reddit

Ligma?

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TheSkyFlier@reddit

Ligma balls

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_Windows_95@reddit

Had an ATIS information Unicorn once.

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minfremi@reddit

PHL Ground by chance?

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_Windows_95@reddit

No, I'm not US based

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Independent-Reveal86@reddit

P for Psychedelic… maaaan.

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stormesixx@reddit

T as in … toenail. 😂

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Goudamax@reddit

Plymouth, Vermont plates, Alpha God Mustard One Niner Decade China

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BamppXx@reddit

Flying through the Houston bravo towards KGLS I overheard “h-Houst..on center.. November one- proceded to vomit on freq” not sure that was very phonetic but definitely it was definitely foul.

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HelloNeumann29@reddit

Used to hear a guy regularly say Green Nikes instead of Golf November on CTAF

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Bunslow@reddit

to be fair, November is way too many sounds for damn spelling

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jmonty42@reddit

Next time J is the current ATIS I'm gonna say I have information Jalapeno (with the hard J in the most gringo way possible).

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Canadian47@reddit

I heard someone at my office say "J" like "Jay" apparently because she had a cousin named Jay. After I finished laughing at (with?) her I printed out a list of the ICAO phonetic alphabet and gave it to her.

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thecloudcities@reddit

B as in Burgers and Beverages.

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cptnpiccard@reddit

P as in ptedoractil.

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Juneyinthesky297@reddit

As a very nervous student pilot on my first solo cross country I told ATC I needed VFR following over to GWO… Green Wiener Orphan I’ll never forget the sound that came out of him over the radio.

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mustardgas_roses451@reddit

Video about the history of phonetic alphabet for the nerds.

https://youtu.be/UAT-eOzeY4M?si=KJ6oocCPf0FePHLb

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rightwrongwhatever@reddit

My plane’s reg # ends in T. For some reason, my brain got stuck once on Bango instead of Tango. Every time I keyed the radio…”Alpha Bango”.

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here4daratio@reddit

Unicorn for U

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Prettymuch-@reddit

Head a student solo say Indigo instead of India

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Adventurous_Bus13@reddit

I work in Sales selling truck and trailer parts so we are constantly saying 4-20 digit numbers/letters over the phone. A women told me E as in Igloo yesterday.

The day before some said B as in Ball Sack, A as in Asshole, and L as in Lick lol

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astroamy24@reddit

Not phonetic alphabet, but I did once hear a Bonanza refer to themselves as “Banana”. I bet that happens pretty regularly bahaha

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BeaconSlash@reddit

The best song:

https://youtu.be/2fasxQN42KU?feature=shared

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ResponsibilityOld164@reddit

Barenaked Ladies ❤️

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Thomas-Ligotti97@reddit

When I was a student pilot I said ‘Utah’ for U….. to this day idk what I was thinking about or where that’s from….

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dovahbe4r@reddit

I've said Indiana for I as a controller lol. Sometimes that stuff just slips out. The emphasis the pilot put into the readback killed me.

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Thomas-Ligotti97@reddit

Atleast India is close 🤣🤣

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Ok-Motor1883@reddit

P as in Pneumonia.

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UFO64@reddit

Just ran into this one last week.

L, as in fifty.

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chitochitochito@reddit

My dad used to have a ham radio call sign ending in SSU; frequently I heard him and others in the local club saying "Sweet and Sour Underpants", which as a 8 year old always made me laugh like crazy.

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strivegaming22@reddit

I’ve fucked up a couple times. The first time I said helo instead of hotel it was a brain fart

Second one was way funnier I said 6 sierra parking. My instructor and I were dying laughing in the plane and he still has not let me forget it.

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Important_Fix3459@reddit

I did pastor instead of papa once

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nascent_aviator@reddit

Heard a 911 call recording once where they said "W as in... umm... Wario."

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TapDancinJesus@reddit

I almost said Mango instead of Mike once

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q-milk@reddit

I actually said "Bingo" as part of tail number at the airport. The tower did not forget, and for a long time they used that when talking to me. Even the fuel truck operator got hold of this when pulling up to fuel me up, face to face with a big grin.

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brazosriver@reddit

The first aircraft I trained in was at KACT and ended in W. In the beginning I had sometimes had issues with swapping Waco for Whiskey and vice versa.

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mackerley@reddit

I worked with a guy that forgot Foxtrot. fa, fa, fa, uh, fa FANDANGO

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DisregardLogan@reddit

I mean they’re both dances, close enough, right?

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Frost_907@reddit

T as in tsunami

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AllMoneyGone@reddit

I’ve heard an arts school student try to spell “T” by saying “T, as in, coffee and tea”

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key_lime_vulture@reddit

N1234Potato on the ramp with information Potato.

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IamTheAsian@reddit

Lmao I used potato once when I was calling customer support and both of us broke down laughing

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YourSpanishMomTaco@reddit

One of my students was telling me about the Family Guy cutaway that made fun of Robert Loggia before the flight… you can probably guess what he said when the ATIS was on information Romeo.

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Pilot0160@reddit

Germany United America instead of Golf Uniform Alpha

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Guysmiley777@reddit

J as in George.

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aloalonso@reddit

O as October

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OriginalJayVee@reddit

Just cause I’m bored….🥱

Aplumb, Booty, Cookoo, Damsel, Energetic, Fupa, Giggity, Howdy, Intense, Jock, Kite, Liquid, Moon, Nintendo, Ogre, Popsocket, Rickity, Sandbag, Tiger, Universe, Vanish, Woohoo, Xerox, Yellow, Zigzag

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D-Dubya@reddit

Fupa... I just chortled through my teeth

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Standard_Raspberry23@reddit

P as in pterodactyl

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D-Dubya@reddit

D as in dog... I swear I heard the controller say what WTF in the background

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DangerousF18@reddit

Tbf that was used by the US Navy back in WW2

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ZappBrannigansLaw@reddit

I heard someone say "Underwear" instead of uniform... lol

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ywgflyer@reddit

Ricky, the J is silent.

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cbrookman@reddit

Overheard a phone call once, hand to God
“S as in Sea….. No, Sea, like Seattle”

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geoffbutler@reddit

I heard a police sgt in my hometown use “cowpie” when calling in a plate once.

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redditburner_5000@reddit

November Tree Niner Fife Pterodactyl Tchavoski

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pilotshashi@reddit

i: ice cream

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poisonandtheremedy@reddit

Unicorn instead of Uniform.

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ThatOnePilotDude@reddit

I accidentally did that when I was taking a girl flying once. Still get texts about that one.

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fan_flan@reddit

Heard SW as “Summer Watermelon”

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DrScienceSpaceCat@reddit

EMS, partner radioed to our dispatch about a possible drunk driver and when he was reading off the license plate he paused forgetting what "M" was and ended with "...M as in...mommy?" No idea why he settled on that but our dispatcher laughed at it lol.

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Mine is funny but “j like jalapeno”

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