It’s ding-guistics.
Airplane passengers were blown away after learning that those ubiquitous “dings” on an airplane are actually a code crew members use to communicate with each other, among other things. A video detailing this “plane English” currently boasts nearly two million views on TikTok.
“It turns out these [dings] are like a secret language between the cabin crew and the cockpit,” explained content creator Mitch Mohammed in the clip.
That’s right, these innocuous chimes aren’t just relegated to the seatbelt sign and the flight attendant call button.
According to the clip, a single ding chimes when the plane is getting ready to take off or land. Meanwhile, two dings signify that the plane is at a safe altitude to use electronic devices and other provisions, per the video.
“That’s [single ding] usually an indication that takeoff has been approved and sometimes even comes with a voice command from the cockpit,” the ding-guistics expert said. “About five minutes after takeoff you’ll hear you’ll hear two dings while in the air that indicates that the plane is at 10,000ft, meaning that WiFi and laptops can be used and flight attendants can stand up if it’s safe.”
Meanwhile, a single ding will sound later on, indicating that the crew is about to begin the food and drink service.
There is also a veritable compendium of other secret dings that the cockpit uses to communicate with the crew like mile-high morse code.
For instance, a high-to-low beep means that one flight attendant is signaling to another or that the flight deck is trying to reach them.
You never want to hear three beeps as this tonal trifecta signifies an emergency.
The TikTok commentariat was flabbergasted over the fly-nese lesson.
“I thought it was the seatbelt,” exclaimed one viewer, while another wrote, “Always wondered what that was but I also thought it was the call button.”
Meanwhile, other experts corroborated Mohammed’s aviation translation.
“As Cabin Crew at EasyJet, I can confirm that the first ding after take-off is a signal from the flight deck to the crew that the gear is up,” explained one.
