Travelling can be exciting, even though there’s the headache of security checks then locating your boarding gate.
But once all that’s done, you can finally settle into your seat and attend to the essential safety briefing. You’ve likely heard distinctive ‘dings’ echo through the cabin just before the aircraft powers down the runway, haven’t you?
Well, wonder no more about these mysterious sounds. An American Airlines pilot named Steve has decoded the onboard enigma for his massive TikTok following of 248,100 fans.
In a recent upload, he explained: “So you’re sitting in the back of the airplane and you hear this… And you think hmm is that random ding?
“Is there a purpose behind that ding? And a little bit later you hear this… There’s that ding again, it happened a second time.”
He continued: “Is there a rhyme or a reason, well the answer is yes. I chime the flight attendants three separate times during the flight on purpose. The first time as we’re taxiing out and you’ll hear the announcement – ‘flight attendants prepare for departure’.”
Delving deeper, he shared: “Shortly after that, I’m cleared for take-off when I’m cleared to go onto the runway and take-off, I turn that no smoking sign on and off and give them a ding that’s their final warning, take a seat, we’re about to take-off.”
The pilot shared a secret with passengers, revealing he’ll sound the chime again as the aircraft reaches 10,000ft in the air.
He elaborated: “I reach up and grab that no smoking sign again and give them another ding to let them know it’s safe to get up and start their service.
“When it’s the third time, after that PA on descent when I say ‘flight attendants prepare for landing’ as we’re coming back down through 10,000ft, I ding them one more time.”
This chime signifies to the crew there are only a few minutes left to tidy everything before touching down.
Since sharing his insights, the post has exploded online, amassing 814,000 likes and being inundated with 6,500 comments. Reactions were mixed, with one user confessing: “The ding always gives me anxiety.”
Another amusingly remarked: “I thought it was someone buzzing for the flight attendants *laughing emoji*.” Then a grateful commenter added: “Thanks for telling me, I always thought the plane was about to crash.”
