7777 is the transponder code for fighter jets carrying out an “active air defense mission”, i.e. an emergency interception.
Under normal circumstance even interception missions are supposed to work with ATC. Squawking 7777 is sort of a last resort thing for the DoD to tell ATC to get out of their way and get everything else out of their way.
Code 7700. This is the code for a general emergency. 7700 can be entered into the transponder for a variety of reasons, and some of the most common include medical emergencies, engine failure, problems with pressurization or landing gear, issues with flight control, and more.
Squawking 7500 signifies an aircraft being hijacked and could result in an aircraft being escorted by military forces.
“7-6, get the radio fixed” (7600 is used for communication failure) “7-7, gone to heaven” (while slightly macabre, 7700 is the code for all other emergency situations)
Squawking 7700 in an emergency
Reserved codes are used in particular situations when an aircraft wants to communicate something to ATC urgently. The most well know of these is the code 7700. This is used to indicate an emergency of any kind.
Series 20 — Code 2000 is to recognize an aircraft that has not received instructions from the air traffic control units to operate the transponder.
Transponder Squawk Codes You Should Know
0000 — A generic code that is not assigned and should not be used. 1200 — VFR aircraft. The default code for all flights–if you aren't asked to set anything else, you should set 1200. 7500 — Hijacking. 7600 — Voice radio failure.
For example, "1200" in the USA means that the flight is flying under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and is not typically in direct contact with ATC. "1200" is a shared code so you may see many aircraft transmitting it at the same time in a given area.
Code 7400 may be displayed by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) when the control link between the aircraft and the pilot is lost. Lost link procedures are programmed into the flight management system and associated with the flight plan being flown. When you observe a Code 7400 display, do the following: a.
7777 is the transponder code for fighter jets carrying out an “active air defense mission”, i.e. an emergency interception.
This alerts ATC that the aircraft is declaring an emergency and does not have an operable radio.
If a crew resets their transponder to the emergency code of 7700 (squawking 7700), all air traffic control facilities in the area are immediately alerted that the aircraft has an emergency situation. It's up to the crew to let ATC know what the exact situation is.
The aircraft declared an emergency by 'squawking 7700'. This means that the pilot has determined that they have an 'urgency' or 'distress' situation and needs timely (but not necessarily immediate) assistance.
Code 7776 and Code 7777 are reserved for SSR ground transponder monitoring. Are reserved for humanitarian flights.
Aviators often speak “pilot English” to avoid miscommunications over radio transmission. “Tree” for instance, means three, “fife” is the number five and “niner” means nine, says Tom Zecha, a manager at AOPA. The variations stemmed from a desire to avoid confusion between similar-sounding numbers, he says.
The first emergency code that you may have become familiar with is Squawk 7500. This code is used to indicate that the aircraft has been hijacked, and therefore requires urgent emergency support from both security services and air traffic control.
The squawk code 7500 is an emergency code used by pilots to inform ATC of a plane hijacking taking place, which means that the pilots have either been forced to change course or are no longer in control of the aircraft.
7000. ICAO. VFR standard squawk code when no other code has been assigned. EASA countries. Code that pilot shall set when not receiving air traffic services, unless otherwise prescribed by the competent authority.
Code 4000 should be assigned when aircraft are operating on a flight plan specifying frequent or rapid changes in assigned altitude in more than one stratum or other category of flight not compatible with a discrete code assignment.
Visual flight rules (VFR) at or below 12,500 feet above sea level (ASL): Mode A, Code 1200, plus Mode C. VFR above 12,500 feet ASL: Mode A, Code 1400, plus Mode C. Instrument flight rules (IFR) in low-level airspace: Mode A, Code 1000, plus Mode C.
- WHAT ABOUT SSR CODE 1000? Mode S conspicuity code A1000 can be assigned to aircraft with mode S capability flying in airspaces able to correlate flight plan information using aircraft ID instead of a discrete 4 digit mode A code.
By entering the 0401 squawk code into the transponder and listening to the published radio frequency, a pilot signifies to Dublin Air Traffic Control that he/she is actively monitoring radio transmissions on the Flight Information Frequency (FIS) 118.5 and that their aircraft position is visible on radar.