SST: Death Flight (1977) - full transcript

(Airplane Engine)

standing by to ignite afterburners. all 

right let's take it through mach 1.

this is captain walsh. the airspeed is now 

approaching 660 miles per hour. please direct

your attention to the micrometer window. an 

empty plane and he's making announcements ...and

the number one appears we will be penetrating 

the sound barrier. you will observe no unusual

vibration or sound within the aircraft. i want to 

make clear to you as you will to your passengers,

that in exceeding the speed of sound 

there is no safety hazard whatsoever.

(Loud Engine)

(Happy Music & Screaming Ladies)

your attention please... aviation 

supersonic transport maiden one

will be arriving in approximately six minutes

maiden once an orbital invitational flight 

to paris will depart as scheduled and 3 pm

(Upbeat Music)

right about here, big smiles

(Upbeat Music)

thank you

(Upbeat Music)

not with harry i know him he's never had 

anything good to say to me or about me

Smile! Too late lover, smile. hey here's the 

familiar face ol number 38 great running

halfback out of the university of notre dame 

excuse me sir five years an old pro with the

new york giants and a one-time sportscaster lyle 

kingman with his lovely wife hello lyle hello

harry when did you start meeting airplanes well 

when it's a plane like this it's new just like

it was news when the network fired you what 

have you been doing lately we haven't heard

too much from you sorting through offers 

mostly we have a big one about to break

dave a lot of folks at home would like to know 

what that is i'm sorry harry nothing's firm yet. You'll be the first to know. Thanks

(Upbeat Music)

(Commotion)

it's a gigantic deal don't you think 

he can see right through that

well you want me to tell him that we're 

dead broke network crum would love that

tell him nothing but you'll be back 

in your own way in your own good time

maybe you've forgotten it's been a 

long year and a half without a paycheck

he'll get something still a fan huh if i 

were to ask you real nice would you marry me

you mean make the same mistake twice what 

kind of a dummy do you think i am the best

jfk tower maiden one is chantilly outer 

marker inbound for runway one right

roger maiden one clear to land runway one right

wind 340 degrees at 12 knots altimeter 

three zero zero four bring the snoop down

this is carla stanley at the boarding area 

bringing you the historic flight of cutlass

aircraft made in one after much controversy 

and many delays approval has been granted

for an experimental flight from new york to 

paris seeking a world record flight time of

2 hours and 40 minutes faster than any commercial 

airliner has ever traveled and now here she is sst

come on willie let's go take some vows 

they're all yours my fun was wasn't building

that lovely just you want to get some pictures 

phillips you load everything like i told you

sir you've asked that question twice 

already and the answer is still yes good

an because generator an extra gyro and 

an extra set of tires here now get on

arrogant know it all gives me

i'd have moved him up a long time ago

now just a few moments from boarding we're going 

to meet with a couple of the contest winners who

will be flying to paris as guests congratulations 

sir you are jared hansen from the great state of

north dakota and happy to be here with you 

thank you hi would you tell us who you are

what do you think about all this 

pretty excited you're just very happy

we're together we're engaged well you 

certainly look right together good luck

today's life and the circus-like atmosphere here 

at kennedy airport are all obviously part of a

carefully staged event but i think it's also fair 

to say that the excitement is genuine that the

america is about to launch the fastest 

commercial airliner in the world

potential customers should be 

impressed by the aircraft's 275

feet capability and also the cruising speed

of nearly 2 000 miles per hour do you have 

any idea how many firm orders have been booked

they didn't tell me that part but uh would 

you like to know about the entire color option

we'll set up our pictures

uh how much to smuggle me on board get me another 

generator and a gyro and a couple of more spare

tires before i gave you everything you asked for 

look don't tell me what i ask for just do as i say

please my pleasure

my

so

mickey

take a drum of bears all over the maiden please

what do you think of it wanna wrap it up or can 

i eat it here how are you doing marshall on the

biggest day of my life how do you think very well 

thank you hank fairbanks willie ambassador so

you're the legendary willy bess trouble with being 

a legend most people think you're already dead

fairbanks were you a pilot yeah i used to fly 

them now i buy them a buyer i represent a group

of south american airlines is here to examine 

our plane they'll buy whatever he recommends

you got your checkbook with you because you're as 

good as soul i hear largemouth's got a pretty fair

machine yeah they do have a very good machine 

ours happens to be better oh you're wrong again

there's good there's better but there's 

only one best than you are looking at

excuse excuse me sir yes yes sir i just got 

a call from a dr thurman of the world health

organization and he would like to get a whatever 

it is a culture i think to the pastor institute in

paris as fast as possible this is a promotional 

trip it's not a mercy ship well that's just the

point so what we're promoting here is is two hours 

and 40 minutes to paris and i well i figured what

better way than to lend the fastest wings in 

the air and besides uh he's already on his way

and what about the culture is it safe oh 

he says if the plane is safe it's safer

besides i can guarantee complete newspaper 

coverage tv commentators the works it's all

free marsh beside it might be a good thing to 

do i mean if you're interested in doing good

all right put them on if he's on time this 

flight leaves on schedule got it thank you sir

he's really something isn't she they 

all look beautiful on the ground

how much did she take near all of it

you topped off both primary and backup 

systems yes sir she's all set good luck

and the rubber's oozing but that's about 

it 250 million bucks later what else is now

babies wet and hydraulic seals leak

well i'll say goodbye hank aren't you going along 

oh willie gets to have all the fun he stays in the

ground and gives interviews a long one i'll show 

you the flight desk okay so long welcome aboard

uh just a minute

should we shake hands kiss her or what oh mate

you look uh you're looking great well exercise eat 

the right foods get plenty of sleep anyone i know

none of your business i may just start checking up 

on you yeah oh i'll catch up with you in a minute

well you're back on top again new job 

and all are you happy generally no

right now seeing you yes save the charm 

i had my fill the last time around

whatever you say me so it's 

awful good to see you again

hank

did anyone tell you jim walsh just captain luck of 

the draw huh well they had to put someone up there

and here is the brain center this 

bird is completely computerized

i tried to convince him we didn't need a 

pilot up here but they got too strong a union

all right hello captain i heard you 

drew the big one you know each other

well we're practically brothers

it's my right seat eric brent hank fairbanks 

heard a lot about you anything good

figures

welcome aboard governor 

thank you you're in section b

anything going to paris is already a 

success have a wonderful trip hello

i'm dr thurman from world health 

this has to be handled very carefully

uh we know all about it brother so don't worry

last time somebody said don't worry to me three 

case histories were put on a plane for miami

they were supposed to go to jacksonville we 

found them in jamaica brother i hear you doctor

oh thank you

are you all right

terrific

hi dear listen oh excuse me um tim i mean mr 

rooney he said that there was some place for

me to change later on downstairs the lower 

galley terrific thanks you're a doll hello

hello her brains are probably all in that walk 

kathy i think you could use some brains there

hello i'm angela garland miss sst i'm 

dr thurman oh don't let me bother you

excuse me but did you say you were a doctor yes 

an epidemiologist oh well i hate to bother you

but do you have anything for a queasy 

stomach oh perhaps it's the excitement

i was starving i'm always starving i ate a pickle 

pickles give me gas well coffee does that to me

me too lately i mean ordinarily it never bothers 

me i have a cast iron stomach except for the last

few weeks i've been waking up every morning 

queasy besides which i gained about a ton well

perhaps you should have a talk with your family 

doctor oh i would but i'm already pretty sure

what he's going to tell me i mean wouldn't you be 

i mean those are the obvious symptoms aren't they

you think you're pregnant well if it's 

true congratulations mrs scotland oh miss

it's miss garland but not for long 

what's new baby hi hi doc how you doing

oh excuse me

check that's completed

ladies and gentlemen it's with a great deal 

of pleasure that cutlass aircraft welcomes

you aboard maiden one for its inaugural 

flight to paris turn one roger turn one

there's no traffic why are they holding us 

up we're so beautiful they hate to let us

go i have a friend in the tower and he has 

promised to help me make it into overtime

no crosstalk during departure maiden one cleared 

for takeoff roger maiden one ready to roll

190 200 210 220 rotate

gear up

climb and maintain flight 

level 650 good luck maiden one

roger maiden one at four five zero 

beginning climb to six five zero

oh timothy sweetheart i look at you i go bananas

oh okay fine but listen there's something i 

would what are you doing maybe we're 12 miles

high this could be a first yeah but there's 

something i want to know yes yes i love you

i adore you i tell you there is plenty of time 

well do you remember that operation you had

all that yeah yes yes you really know what that 

is my darling but i may not know what it is but i

know what it does did you have it well of course i 

did you heard me make the appointment did you keep

it yeah sure of course i did and we better tell 

the believe it or not people because i'm pregnant

there's a lot of that going 

around not in my district

come on don't panic you know 

me the old troubleshooter hmm

just tell me what are we gonna do about it have 

i ever let you down ever even once i just wanna

know what are you gonna do about it i i listen if 

it's true and we're i'm not saying that it isn't

true but i give you my solemn word of honor that 

we will do whatever is best for both of us okay

yes

and and i don't believe it this is marvelous 

what a happy surprise how are you paul well

i'm tickled to death what do you think but you i 

mean the the flight how the contest i won the trip

uh this is bob connors mr connors are you a 

winner too no i'm with anne we're together

well then i would say that you are very 

definitely a winner good for you both of you

oh i think i'm blocking the road i 

was just gonna have a look around

join me for a drink with the other two of 

you i'll wait for you back in the main lounge

say who is that old boy uh that's paul whitley 

the man i used to work for president of whitley

electronics well opportunity knocks let's 

go and have that drink oh let's not bob he

was just being polite oh what's wrong with us 

being polite i honestly don't feel like a drink

but then have coffee or tea anything come on 

come on a guy like whitley i could use a break

you

we're experiencing a little clear air 

turbulence and we should be through it

very soon and meanwhile please note we've 

turned on the seatbelt sign thank you

now i remember my memories like a trick knee 

it pops in and out fairbanks the other guy

that was involved with that big brouhaha a few 

years back they took away your pilot's license

everything would lock me out of the terminal for 

needlessly risking the lives and the safety of the

passengers in your charge there's nothing wrong 

with your memory mr bassett things i remember i

remember pretty good there's the things that i 

forget i don't remember at all were you guilty

i was flying from los angeles to atlanta over 

new mexico a passenger suffered a heart attack

a major heart attack i radioed the nearest airport

told him to have an ambulance standing by and went 

in for a landing well they busted you out for that

it wasn't exactly optimum weather it's kind 

of hairy coming in well you didn't have to

report that quietly i didn't my co-pilot 

did you know him he's your captain what

hi lyle hi carla mrs kingman hi glad to see you 

out among them again oh we still make a few of the

freebies last week we opened a hotel in tucson and 

did a telethon in abilene well you're a-list with

me and with a lot of other people i know my kids 

would rather meet you than anybody i can think of

well thank you it's nice to think maybe all 

those sunday afternoons added up to something

the rumor mill has it that you maybe do some 

congratulations from what i read bar crest

estates means to be the biggest thing in arizona 

it's nothing definite it's not said yet well if

it's right i wish it to you i'm gonna grab a drink 

two more hours and i'm on again buy satellite yet

you do have an offer you're not thinking of 

taking that that mike real estate thing hey it's

a job a big one like hellman's not offering 

you a job he wants to buy your reputation

because his own is so rotten you 

said that so i got to know him better

65 000 feet captain we are at 

altitude set cruise control

setting cruise control 1.7 on 

the eepers looks good at 2.5

ladies and gentlemen this is captain walls 

if you look out your windows you'll see a

sight that very few except the astronauts have 

ever seen although the sky above remains black

the aircraft itself is in full sunlight we 

are literally at the edge of outer space

a couple of flutters on the pressure gauge and 

falling that leaky seal must be acting up again

switch to backup hydraulic system 

switching to secondary hydraulics

i better go have a look okay yeah hop to it

so if it all works out we'll be married in the 

spring but then you are engaged well that's great

just great well it's not well the deal isn't quite 

nailed down yet but i'm working on it sales is my

line and if i can't close in paris then i don't 

deserve it how is he selling himself man well

we're here together well and i'd say he is a very 

good salesman i think so huh i know so she worked

for me for three years and i i couldn't sell her 

on staying you know what i can't quite figure out

anne is why you left if i had the opportunity 

i'd certainly rather work for you really

count your blessings because if she hadn't left me

if she hadn't left whitley you might 

never met her um how about a refill

the captain this is phillips uh i think 

you um i think you better get down here now

what's the problem the seals they're just not 

holding up can you unplug them or replace it

i'm afraid not in flight some solution here 

that's what you're here for well there's only

one solution you have to turn this back 

and land at the nearest possible airport

for a simple hydraulic leak come on the manual 

is very clear on that captain forget forget the

manual these these seals are defective they could 

blow at any second seen every variety of leaky

seal and i've yet to see one give completely hey 

captain i know when i'm talking about this when

i'm here i'm telling you that if we don't turn 

back if my tail between my legs with another

company two months away from having their plane 

in the air like nothing better than to see us fail

come on captain you don't understand it if we 

keep going we're gonna be you get out a pump

you start drying this stuff up 

this plane stays up you got it

captain you heard me get busy

atlantic satellite control this is made in one 

patch me through to air rink i need an emergency

line to marshall coal cutless maintenance 

kennedy new york all mike wants me to do is

talk to the money boys uh country club boys bend 

the elbow slap a few backs make a few commercials

for which he is going to pay me a percentage 

a generous percentage of every dollar he makes

mile he's a crook you know it and i know 

it he has not been convicted of anything

you're forgetting we're broke stone cold 

bare-knuckled broke i'm trying to find a

way for us to survive and if that means doing it 

to them before they do it to us so be it i know

you're hurting lyle but you don't believe that 

you don't believe a word of it don't you think so

you've been living with a stranger cookie because 

that's the gospel according to lyle kingman

it could be a pump would he got too much pressure 

uh when you get to paris replace the entire

hydraulic assembly including the backup unit 

that'll be everything you'll need at the goal

uh roger sir phillips has just come up

sir i don't care what walt says we uh

we can't make it oh damn it phillips 

i'll settle down both of you if it

leaks at twice the present rate you'll have 

plenty of pressure seals don't disintegrate

they are disintegrating i'm telling you 

anybody with a pair of eyes can see that

hey what are you trying to kill us all you idiot 

i don't care fire me just turn this thing around

less you're a pro behave like one 

this is not just a promotional event

a whole future right on that flight i will 

not abort it that is final it's called

that now you wouldn't be saying that 

if you only knew that i've heard it

you're there to solve problems not create 

them get on it did you hear get on it

jellyfish oughta be in a hangar not a plane

what are you waiting for lindbergh he's dead

let's get out to the prototype 

and try to think this one out

you're really upset

you're serious about that guy well 

that's one for the books what'd you do

in bed sir from hot tea and lemon don't 

equate agent virility it doesn't track

the point is that paul whitley was a warm 

compassionate decent man who had a very

positive effect on the woman that you fell in love 

with great great i'll keep that in mind when i pay

my social security taxes don't start me defending 

him or we may both regret it okay okay i'm sorry

help yourself that's not what i had in mind

i think i've got work to do i've got a schedule 

remember the hotel by the mandolin we get to

paris why don't we i remember a lot of hotels 

that's the trouble with me i've always been a

pushover and that's bad because the man you 

happen to be in love with can go flying off

and come back years later and feel 

free to say how about it sweetie

no hank it's not that i think 

less of you but i think more of me

hey yeah willing hey look 

down that wing what do you see

i don't see anything what am i supposed to see 

that's not a control surface moving i haven't

been for the last five minutes the plane's not 

on autopilot and it's not being flown manually

come on willy

captain you've got to turn this aircraft around

come on phillips no more you understand captain 

the the seals are deteriorating because there's uh

there's detergent in the aerosol 

it's corrosive there's what

that's not only crazy it's impossible 

i'm telling you it's detergent

the beginning of leaving captain you've got to 

believe me i know how do you know i know because

i put it there

make a course correctional going home

we're not turning

disconnect the autopilot autopilot disengaged

controls are locked we've lost all 

hydraulic pressure keep out take

everything is shorted out i told you why didn't 

you listen we could have been home by now so

how do we fly this thing we don't we're as good as 

dead why didn't you turn back you've killed us all

as long as we're in balance and we're flying level 

we're okay if we hit turbulence and nose down

we'll go all the way in the passengers start 

moving around have the same effect you better lock

them in their seats what i'm in charge here and i 

don't want to hear or see anybody but crew members

now is that clear well let me clarify something i 

built this plane i built it to fly whatever i can

do to keep it flying i'm gonna do all right 

hank let's go and see how bad it is below

i might give you a small discard that was the game 

that charles proposed to me during the halftime

you scored four touchdowns remember i should that 

was the biggest sunday i ever had well yesterday's

uh this is captain walt we're experiencing an 

in-flight problem there's no cause for alarm but

we have turned on the seat belt sign and asked 

that all passengers return to their seats and

remain there until further notice i repeat do not 

leave your seats thank you an in-flight problem

there's nothing to worry about folks all that 

means is the captain has dropped his glass eye

into his martini as soon as he recovers it he'll 

be confident enough to let us move around again

oh my god

why did you do that for money i never thought 

i would come to this why didn't walsh do what

i told him he was supposed to turn back before 

it got this far and my poor plane was to hobble

home discredited a watchman picked up the order 

said it i'm gonna kill you really but get out of

here i'll tell you one thing you're getting 

the money's worth because you've killed the

plane but what about the people what about 250 

people up there what are we going to tell them

it wasn't supposed to happen this way don't 

you understand who it was well i said only

one satisfaction and that's if we go he's going 

to die with us ronnie should promote me huh i

was supposed to be production supervisor none of 

this would have happened i was entitled shut up

what's the trouble probably nothing

you're either upset or angry which one is 

it try both look while i don't give a damn

about status about lifestyle anything you 

do is fine with me i'm with you all the way

climb into a garbage pail with 

mike hellman you're on your own

i'll be gone i love you too much to watch you 

do that to yourself jordis yes what's going on

why are we suddenly glued to our seat just 

routine precaution there's no need for alarm

that's no answer i want an answer sir the 

captain will keep us informed now just relax

did you hear that coffee tea or simple syrup

she's just doing her job yeah 

well i hope they're doing theirs

stewardess what is the problem nothing serious i 

have to know it's being corrected sir don't worry

don't worry yeah don't worry 

that's what i keep telling you

that's what you said before look what happened

he did it deliberately we shouldn't have turned 

him down for production supervisor we should have

shot him now let me get this straight now spoilers 

flaps the trim don't respond at all no sir we have

zero hydraulic pressure in both the primary and 

the backup systems we can't go up down a turn

what about your power engines are okay if we stay 

level we can stay up until we run out of fuel

oh come on you get a five hours fuel supply we'll 

get you out of this long before that stop telling

us what you're gonna do start doing it we're into 

it willie hank i appreciate your help but you're a

passenger on this fight you're gonna have to leave 

the cockpit regulations you want to become friends

get us to paris what do you propose to do about 

the situation would you say that marriage was

a reasonable consideration it's certainly a 

consideration but uh there are others i mean there

are there are clinics hundreds of clinics all over 

the place where the only thing they do say that

one to me don't you ever say that word to me okay 

okay okay i won't say the word but it's gonna ruin

your figure and it's gonna ruin your career having 

a baby's gonna ruin that dynamite figure you got

baby tell her doc babies do not ruin a woman's 

figure that is an old wives tale isn't that right

doctor there yeah well what about overpopulation 

there's already too many people in the world tell

her doc wait a minute you just wait a minute i 

want to see what dr thurman has to say about it

well i think i've said too much already

there it goes

better tell them

this is captain walsh due to a temporary 

malfunction with the passengers in the first

two rows of the forward compartment please 

move to the rear of the aircraft immediately

rose number one and two please 

take a seat in the rear lounge

uh our cabin attendants will assist you thank you 

okay folks you've heard the captain rose one and

two to the rear lounge please it's only temporary 

thank you i'm gonna find out what's going on bob

sir please return to your seat go get this 

straight i'm going up there uh no sir you're not

tell me what to do you pansy i've been called 

that before yeah and what do you do about it

i try to ignore it and if that fails and neither 

the groin usually works you're not coming forward

is that a fact that's a fact calm down get 

a hold of yourself [ __ ] stop it stop it

sit down you don't frighten me you're 

frightening the passengers now sit down

over there

sit down

all right yes five years ago i just seen that 

punch coming no it may be sick put your head back

uh

it worked

now this is captain walsh thank you for your 

cooperation our flight level is now stabilized uh

however for the time being we'll leave passengers 

in the rear lounge please remain where they are

uh thank you

you have a nice touch i'd almost forgotten me anne 

if i'm supposed to be such a great big success

how did i how did i manage to lose you we just 

got born at the wrong time oh yes sure i remember

let's see if i'm 104 you'll be uh 

what is it my mouth is lousy oh paul

i'm sorry miss you'll have to go back to your seat

ready sir

go

that's it you've got it cutler's hanging the 

maiden one come in walt i read you sir we found

a way to bypass a hydraulic system and move 

the control surfaces electrically god love you

send a couple of envelopes with 

heavy duty wire and connecting clips

down to plug in eddie will 

direct them from here eric roy

wait marshall that detergent is dangerous stuff 

they're not going down there with blow torches

but i'd still wait for the fumes to clear i 

appreciate your advice willie walsh get on it

how is he all right how are you

look i don't know what happened i 

i was thinking about you and him

and all of a sudden there he 

was what's happens happened

be awfully dumb to give up ten months for a lousy

two and a half hour plane ride all we 

can do is forget it and go on from here

what is it you're going to do lore 41 to cutlass 

anger nakamura here ready and waiting mrs

connect the first clip to the main generator at g4

roger roger stand by g4 it's in 

that middle panel right over there

we're hooked in at g4 connect the second 

clip to the solenoid s2 opposite side along

the transformer proceeding solenoid s2 lookup 

i can help help why not this tail's in the same

range as ours it's the second one there on 

the right second one down so be very careful

this is

grab your oxygen

come

please acknowledge anyone please acknowledge

one

hmm

attention this is emergency all passengers in the 

forward compartment go immediately to the tail

section if you can't find a seat for rocky demand 

use the buddy system cabin crew will instruct you

all right everyone you heard what the 

captain said let's everyone move to the back

come on folks there's nothing to it it's going to 

take a little stroll to the back of the airplane

okay everybody just follow a little lady let's go

come on put the air off 

here breathe okay stay here

please do something blow me down

you're cutting up my circulation you're cutting 

off my circulation sorry hank fairbanks cutlass

hangar explosion award i'm filling in for captain 

walsh explosion any casual nation probably

we're dropping at 5 000 feet per minute

me

circuit back to your seat and put on 

your oxygen mask i put a biological

board have to see if it was 

damaged where is it in the bag

you can't possibly get there in 

flight but i'll tell the captain

i get it hold on doc we got to get back to seat 

hunter there you go get the seat belt honey

okay it's gonna be all right okay come on

still allows

come on let me have it

right

i moved the passengers to the rear 

to try to get us back into palace

she's leveling off what's the altitude 10 

000 feet i like a little more falling down

room at least they won't need 

oxygen anymore tell them walsh

this is captain walt we've reduced our altitude to 

10 000 feet now you can breathe now without oxygen

i'll take over now the man 

saved your aircraft captain

forgotten how to say thank you when he 

ever said the man wasn't a good pilot

appreciate what you did we all do don't mention 

it a little gratitude never hurt anybody

carla carla it's all right you can breathe now 

carla carla look at me i'm breathing normally

you can let go of that now you don't 

need it it's all right it's all right

i'm sorry

living this sort of thing

is not the same as reporting it all right 

everything's going to be fine it's all right

is anybody hurt is everybody reasonably okay

good these freebies are really getting to 

be something they make you work for them

i'll be back in a minute

hey listen everybody let me tell you something 

about this little disturbance do you know it's

more dangerous to cross the city street than 

it is to fly the atlantic in an airplane

now we're gonna make it i guarantee it 

matter of fact i'll stake my life on it

just settle down folks everything's gonna 

be okay can i have your attention please

now listen to me now let's everybody hang together 

and not give the good people flying this machine

any more trouble than they've already bought that 

helped thank you i think you realize how urgent

this is doctor he said he'll see you please give 

him a few minutes more to get things settled down

stewart hey doc it smells like a hospital in 

here somebody in for knee surgery oh god there's

a biological board a viral material suspended 

in chloroform the container must have ruptured

the captain must see me now i'll go with you

you were right willie never 

sent the man down there

the paper had worked well they're gone and we're 

about to join them if we don't get some hydraulic

pressure back in these controls is there a 

way to divert the drinking and hand water

into those hydraulic lines well even if there was 

it still go pouring out through the broken seals

yeah but it'll give us maybe three minutes 

of pressure that's three minutes of stick

time you give me three minutes i can land 

this thing what do you think marsha my work

looks like it's our best shot it's our only shot 

yeah now our problem is how do we bank and make

course corrections until we can find a place where 

we can't put it down we can switch fuel from one

wing tank to another yeah yeah that's right do 

that do that sending a tank a few from one side to

the other would would turn the queen elizabeth now 

we'll get to work with the water connection now

keep the line open okay let's do it you've got 

the pumps let's see if we can turn this thing

come on

hallelujah while you did it

uh this is the captain i'm happy to report 

that we have restored partial controls

and we are now back on course to paris thank you

i must speak with you captain

hey

that virus is racing through this plane right now

flu is a lump word to cover everything from a 

24-hour stomach upset to the hong kong or swine

variety each strain has its own symptoms its own 

death rate i was around in 1918 when one of those

bugs swept around the world killing and so could 

this it broke out in senegal the african mortality

rate is already close to 30 percent that's why 

the rush to get to the pasta institute hope to

get a vaccine how long is incubation period oh it 

hits fast with some people an hour others a day

first starts with throat ulcers followed 

with high fever and lung congestion

and i was the one that told him to take 

it aboard that'll add to the legend huh

what are you going to tell the passengers

nothing our hydraulic system is out our 

chances of landing are less than 50 don't

ask me to cope with the play note of hysterics 

and for what it's worth that's confidential

he's right if anybody gets sick nothing 

can be done until we land if we land

from water valve n1 to s pipe joint 

at v6 on the lower hydraulic line

and one of these six roger i'll take it from 

here family let me help you no it's okay

listen you go tell the cool close the john 

cena restrict drinking water get going roger

hank tell me straight how much trouble 

are we at come on we're both pros we've

got some problems we're gonna make it there's 

a little hotel by the madeleine if we make it

if we make it you've got a date 

hell i guess i'm still a pushover

the goal approached a goal approach this 

is cutlass maiden one at one zero thousand

mid and one this is the goal approach 

ident maintain one zero thousand

approach we are declaring an emergency request 

priority landing with crash equipment on standby

roger amid one we have 

monitored your transmissions

you have priority clearance good luck sir

i'm sorry to have to remind you captain 

but as i said you must tell them

your maiden wanted to go request emergency 

quarantine we are carrying contagious biological

material what is purpose of quarantine the 

maiden one is in biological material contained

repeat is biological material contained 

negative de gaulle unit is not contained

roger maiden we will have to advise health and 

immigration and check on quarantine facilities

what is the nature of contagion 

flu senegal flu please stand by

miss captain walt we're awaiting a technical 

clearance we'll keep you informed thank you

geez those guys deserve a medal now what 

this company deserves is a fat lawsuit

well one battle a day is enough 

for me what we all deserve is a

sure he's drink right it's just 

past his bedtime that's all

the ministers

um

turning off the lights and the acg the goal 

to maiden one i regret health and immigration

advisors you cannot land with your senegal 

flu not contained say again the gulf say again

middle one i regret it is not my doing you 

cannot land at the goal you cannot land

anywhere in france we have no way to arrange 

for quarantine facilities so quickly we would

require at least 24 hours to prepare then clear 

us for an airport that can we will do what we can

continue if they won't take us who will 

they'll find us an alternate there has

to be a way to isolate this thing 

it's already isolated up here with us

this is fumiko air station roma please inform 

maiden one that because of special condition

aboard permission to land must be denied at this 

time the goal this is madrid air control officials

inform us there is insufficient time 

to prepare quarantined facilities

we monitor you unfortunately permission to land is 

denied also by brussels oslo amsterdam stuttgart

and london we will continue trying but we must 

ask you to leave french airspace immediately

may i see you doctor

this is the captain again we are 

unable to land in paris as scheduled

we'll inform you as soon as we're 

cleared by an alternate airport

i anticipate no problems and 

there's no cause for alarm thank you

doctor what's wrong just somebody not feeling well

anybody who does feel well ought to be in a 

straight jacket maiden one to marshall cole

cutlass hanger urgent come in marshall get back to 

me as soon as you can marshall call here marshall

you won't believe this i believe it we've been 

monitoring hang on i may have some good news

i've got the state department putting pressure on 

london they tell me there's some kind of agreement

a bilateral treaty covering emergency landings 

they're talking to the ministry of health now

according to state they have to let you come 

in great one way or another we'll get you down

getting down is no problem we can get down 

by ourselves we got a whole ocean to get down

here standby you want to buy an airplane 

no but i go top dollar for a life boat

is it difficult to swallow

and more like it's on fire you'll have 

to remain here stay covered up and rest

you've got the flu flu that's it 

all listen i i once beat pneumonia

and hepatitis in the same afternoon good 

strong constitution is your best chance

best chance

i don't warn you doc when i took 

up golf i quit going to church

look there is no point in 

us catching it besides we

should be in the back with the others the weight

you weigh more than i do go ahead 

let somebody else play nursemaid

it's him or me and now make up your mind

won't be silly go where you belong

i'm already there i made the mistake of leaving 

you once i'm not gonna blow it a second time

look at the ears of mixed doubles you think 

i've got left in me i'll take whatever it is

uh lucky me well paul whitley too tends 

to strike the young and elderly first

catches it the beginning in the end cutlass 

hanger calling maiden one come in one go ahead

i hear this london will honor the treaties they 

don't want you but they're going to take it the

preparing emergency equipment is setting up a 

quarantine station proceed immediately to heathrow

london roger sir roger roger just a minute there's 

no way to quarantine against this without adequate

notice you'd have to seal this plane in plastic 

to stop it from spreading with no lead time at

all all they could do was jerry-rigged 

something they might as well do nothing

we have no alternative we have two and a half 

maybe three hours fuel left and that's it if you

land in london we'll be responsible for spreading 

this contagion i remind you captain we're talking

about a 30 mortality rate look i listened to you 

once now everyone in authority is notified of our

condition it's their responsibility to granted 

deny entry my responsibility is to the people

of this plane let's see how far it is to senegal 

what that's where the disease originated i mean

you can't do any more harm it's already been done 

maybe the flu has run its course wait a minute

it's very probable that only dakar airport has has 

quarantined facilities our destination is london

could we make it to senegal i don't 

know our fuel is marginal if we make it

we'll make it by the skin of 

our teeth look forget it hank

i have my orders and my responsibility is to 

the company the passengers and nobody else

what about the passengers don't they have anything 

to say about this no they don't it's my decision

gentlemen i'm afraid you'll have to leave 

the cockpit it's going to get pretty busy

why don't you find out how the passengers 

feel go on ask them gentlemen please

so that's the choice if we choose london we 

run the risk of starting an epidemic with a

more than 30 mortality rate if we pick senegal 

we may not be able to stretch our fuel that far

there's an even chance we won't make it and it's 

london i'm with you friend as long as we don't ask

ourselves how many people were willing to let 

die to ensure our survival as long as we feel

no moral obligation to anyone else what about 

the cities that turned us away what about their

moral obligation we can't speak for them only for 

ourselves what we have to ask ourselves is whether

there's more to life than just surviving whether 

it's important how you survive don't give me that

look we didn't ask to be here we're not 

volunteers nobody even told us there was a

health hazard on board we're innocent and this 

joker here is telling us we have to die well

nobody dies well that's why 

we're going to london agreed

right london london i say london 

yes london london i say synagogue

senegal london senegal wherever that is it's on 

the equator and not very attractive senegal london

i'm i'm sorry

senegal

so if your decision is to go to 

senegal please raise your hand

listen there's some place closer 

london for god sakes london

senegal sure what else senegal

way things have been going today the limousine 

probably wouldn't been there to meet us anyway

those for senegal in a section

i'll tell them up front

you say you're responsible to the passengers well 

the passengers by a vote of three to one have

decided for senegal it's insane maybe it is but 

the passengers voted senegal they remind you this

isn't a town meeting there's one vote that counts 

you that's mine and we're headed for london will

you for once in your life make a decision on your 

own not everything in this world is covered by the

faa book of rules and regulations well i know you 

never paid much attention to that kind of thing

you threw the book away in your career with 

it i broke one of those precious rules not one

damn it dozens you didn't just come in under 

the minimums you know it was sucked in at

zero and you picked an airfield so small i didn't 

even have an approach radar facility you bet the

lives of everybody on board that you could force 

a landing on a runway that was 500 feet too short

and never intended to handle an aircraft that 

large you want me to go on i made the landing yes

but only because you were the best or the luckiest 

a number one fly by the city or pants pilot this

company ever had and you were wrong your decision 

the land in west texas was unprofessional

and irresponsible that has nothing to do what's 

happening has everything to do with it because you

still think that a pilot of a commercial airline 

is some kind of a rodeo star a barnstorming stunt

flyer with a white scarf tied around his neck 

that attitude didn't belong in the cockpit when

you were busted and it doesn't belong here now 

god how long will it take for that to sink in

you're right walsh that was wrong

i guess it was easier for me to blame you and face 

myself and if that's true if that's true then i

risk the lies of a lot of people in order to save 

one i admit it i was wrong i made a mistake a

bad one but aren't you about to do the very exact 

same thing well should take this plane into london

and you'll be risking the lives 

of a great many just to save a few

enough of important people on that 

plane i don't want them inconvenienced

our representatives in london have 

already pulled all strings necessary

to get them out of quarantine as 

soon as possible understand over

washi

we're changing course sir changing change of 

course aware dakar airport senegal are you

crazy yes maybe you take that plane straight 

to london that is an order you read me over

i read you sir cutlass maiden one out

thank you captain walsh well you better 

check with the senegalese people make

sure they have no objections shouldn't 

be a captain at all or be a general

what are the ads doctor i 

don't give odds mr whitney just

which means the odds are not so good people don't 

seem to realize they answer the question by not

answering the question i'm not one of those people 

i have an answer just waiting for a question

what's the answer yes

what's the question

will you marry me i thought you'd never ask i did 

once before only that time it was the wrong answer

then if i swore i wasn't gonna cry

you were praying ah sir i was making deal

if he gets us there safe and sound

we'll make it permanent

can i ask you one more favor when we get 

married on our honeymoon can we go by boat

turbulence pressure falling in all mountain passes 

wind shears all quadrons not one stinking break

since this historic trip again check the fuel 

gauge what do we got 20 minutes no more like 10.

will it what are you doing you're gonna need those 

three minutes of control forget it let me do it no

you're hitting by he's paid to fly i'm 

the legendary kind who built this place

let's all stick to what we know 

really she's a great machine the best

we're going to come up short isn't there 

some place we can land this side of our car

there's nothing between here 

that car but mountains in the

well you jungle get ready tell me

yes sir may prepare passengers 

for possible emergency landing

oh my god easy now easy we're 

gonna make it sure gonna try

you take care of yourself i got 

something in mind for you later

whatever it is you've got 

the right girl i love you too

see you

in case i don't get a chance to 

say this again phoenix mutual

fly to play please remove all glasses loosen 

your ties and your belts place a pillow in

your lap and be ready to place your face in 

the pillow when the aircraft comes to a halt

proceed to the nearest emergency 

exit quickly but calmly thank you

i hope it's fast hey hey come kid 

come on this is what we get paid for

we're about to kill two engines can't lose 

the altitude pal what the hell is that big

and he's supposed to be at two o'clock yeah 

it should be but it isn't mountain head bank

you got it

hey give me a hand

30 degrees stitching gear up up

who aren't see me

you

angie

angie hey over here

oh my god took your time getting here i'm here 

now willie get you out a minute just hold on

yeah how many made it a lot really a lot i 

wish i was one of them now you'll live forever

i already have

wait ah

[ __ ] the plane

you tell him i'll tell him

legend many

are you all right he sure did his job didn't he 

he you know both of us safe and sound all three

of us yeah well i don't know i i hurt my wrists 

and my legs and talk about a splitting headache oh

no no no don't get me wrong sweetheart sweetheart 

i wouldn't try to weasel out of a promise that's

what i'm wondering oh well shame on you same on 

you oh baby the only thing is you know i just i

just don't think that well we're not absolutely 

positive that you're pregnant you know we're not

really terribly sure i think that we shouldn't 

really tell the whole world well there's no point

in telling your family and and all your relatives 

and everything you know because we don't i mean

that we're gonna get married i mean we don't know 

that for sure right darling i think that i think

that we ought to talk about it that's all cause 

well everything worked out you know we're crying

where have you been here you all right

i'm not injured if that's what 

you mean where's the champ

i'm sorry i'm sorry

are you all right miss family

i've got it right

what did you say the mortality rate was

the survival rate is at least 70 percent

i haven't been out of the top 70 percentile 

since grammar school i've got it made well

there's a quarantine hospital already set 

up we'll get you there as quickly as we can

how many others

14 or 15 so far doctor we 

did the right thing didn't we

are we our brother's keeper the majority of our 

fellow passengers answered yes they backed it

with their lives but the vaccine will they 

develop it in time to make all this worth it

well there are a lot of good people at the disease 

center in atlanta still working on it and we've

radioed back and they've already sent a culture 

onto the pasta institute one of them will crack it

good luck

gotta get that arm well in a hurry if you're 

gonna be pouring tea tea isn't that what

faculty wives do for tea the football coach is 

part of the faculty what about that deal with

mike hellman i don't think i'd look good in 

a garbage pail even a gold-plated one besides

this place gotta start somewhere probably some 

good kids that destitution you anything you say

doctor what about these people helping us won't 

they be infected no guarantees captain but

they're all volunteers who were previously 

exposed to the virus with no ill effects

they'll be joining us in quarantine 

will i see you at the hospital

as soon as everyone's evacuated we'll be burning 

all this we should be finished before dark

whatever it takes i'm gonna 

get your license back good luck

we can carry one more go ahead man. 

what are you trying to do get rid of me?

never again. room for one more.

(Helicopter)

(Soft Music)