Emergency squawks

Every aircraft carries a transponder that answers radar with a four-digit code known as a squawk. Air traffic control normally assigns these codes, but three of them are reserved worldwide to signal trouble, and a crew can dial one in to tell everyone quickly what is happening.

7700 is a general emergency and can cover anything from a medical situation on board to a technical problem or low fuel. 7600 means the aircraft has lost radio communication and can no longer talk to controllers. 7500 is the gravest of the three: it signals unlawful interference, such as a hijacking.

Seeing one of these codes does not always mean a crisis is unfolding. Crews sometimes set a code briefly while working through a minor issue, and codes are occasionally selected in error and cleared moments later. This page is an unofficial watch assembled from public ADS-B data. It is not linked to air traffic control and should not be taken as confirmed news of an incident.

Each card shows the aircraft's callsign or hex identifier, its type and registration where known, a colored badge with the active squawk code and its meaning, and a small map of where it is. Whenever any aircraft is squawking an emergency code, a red dot also appears in the site navigation.