The second in the movie series is Airport '75. Again, we have a star-studded cast for the time. Charlton Heston, Karen Black, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Helen Reddy, Linda Blair, and George Kennedy; to name a few. Mr. Kennedy is reprising his role from the first movie, Patroni. Since this is a different airport, Mr. Patroni's job has changed. Instead of being a Maintenance Crew Supervisor, he is now the Vice President of Columbia Airlines. Nice little promotion there.
Columbia Flight 409 from Dulles Washington International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport is our soon to be troubled flight. On the way to L.A., the entire Western Coast of the U.S. is socked in from an occluded front. Flight 409 is diverted to land at Saly Lake City International Airport. Unfortunately, they aren't the only aircraft diverted there.
A Beechcraft Baron is also diverted to Salt Lake. Unfortunately, the owner and pilot of the private plane experiences a heart attack and loses control of the aircraft. The Beechcraft flies into the 747 right above the co-pilot's seat, ripping a huge hole into the right side of the cockpit. The co-pilot is ejected from the aircraft, the flight engineer is killed, and the pilot is blinded by debris from the collision. With the flight crew decimated, there is no one aboard trained to land the 747.
The First Stewardess is on the scene. She radios Salt Lake to inform them of the plane's precarious situation. She is voluntold that she will need to complete the plane's descent. No worries. She will be talked through what to do over the radio. This day couldn't get any worse......
The plane is going toward a mountain range with a 14teen footer in it's path....and the plane loses radio contact with the control tower....and engine 3 is leaking fuel....and the plane is unable to make a turn.....and there is a young girl on the plane that needs a kidney transplant (honest). So, it is a little worse.....
Nancy, the stewardess, figures out that she can't increase the altitude because of a possible engine stall. Luckily another stewardess apprises the blinded pilot of the situation. He tells Nancy what she needs to do to fly over the mountain without an engine stalling. Does Nancy successfully land the plane? What million to one shot plan is concocted to save the lives of those aboard Flight 409? Will the young girl get her kidney transplant on time?
You need to stream it on Netflix to find out.....and yes. The movie Airplane! takes a great pleasure in parodying this installment.
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