Squawk 7500: A Word Pilots Use Without Speaking
A squawk is a harsh cry. In aviation it means a transponder code, and one of those codes signals a hijacking without a word being said.
A squawk is a loud harsh cry, the noise a startled parrot makes. Aviation gave it a second life: a squawk is the four-digit code an aircraft transponder broadcasts, and three of those codes are emergencies. Squawk 7700 means general trouble, 7600 radio failure, and 7500 hijacking — a way to raise the alarm without saying anything aloud.
- A harsh cry. *The gulls squawked overhead.*
- To complain loudly. *They squawked about the delay.*
- A transponder code. *Squawk four two one one.*
- Squawk box — an intercom. *Over the squawk box.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | squawk | Parrots squawk. |
| Past | squawked | It squawked once. |
| Noun | squawk | A single squawk. |
| Plural | squawks | Angry squawks. |
| Compound | squawk box | An old squawk box. |
- The macaw squawked and flew off.The literal sound.
- Season ticket holders squawked at the price rise.Informal complaint.
- Squawk seven seven zero zero.The general emergency code.
The three emergency squawk codes
- 7500 — unlawful interference, in practice hijacking
- 7600 — radio communication failure
- 7700 — general emergency
- Silent alarm — the code is set on a dial, not spoken
- Why they are remembered — pilots learn them as seventy-five taken alive, seventy-six radio nix, seventy-seven going to heaven
Imitative in origin, first recorded in English in the 1820s. The aviation sense comes from a Second World War identification system codenamed Parrot, whose signal was called a squawk.
Why do pilots say squawk?
The wartime identification system was codenamed Parrot, and its transmission was nicknamed a squawk. The term stayed in air traffic control.
What does squawk 7500 mean?
It signals unlawful interference with the aircraft. It lets a crew raise the alarm without speaking.