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At the Honolulu airport, the crew of a routine passenger
flight to San Francisco assembles, as mechanics make pre-flight checks
of the plane. Most of the airline personnel are aware that the
flight’s second pilot, the seasoned and almost legendary older flyer,
"Whistling" Dan Roman, is haunted by a flight he piloted that crashed,
leaving him permanently injured and killing all others on board,
including his wife and son. The captain of the flight to San
Francisco, "Skipper" Sullivan, suffers from a secret fear of flying that
sometimes hits pilots after logging many flight hours.
Inside the airport, stewardess Spalding checks in the
passengers, who all have personal troubles. Mr. Flaherty, a nuclear
physicist, hates how his life’s work has been used. Mr. and Mrs.
Ed Joseph are returning to their small town after suffering a series of
mishaps and bad luck during their long-anticipated "dream" vacation.
Traveling with his contemptuous wife Lillian is Broadway producer
Gustave Pardee, who fears flying. Fading beauty queen, Sally
McKee, fears rejection from the fiancée she courted by mail with an
eight-year-old photograph. Also on board is heiress Lydia Rice,
who is angry that her husband Howard wants to sell her inherited family
business to buy a mine and is contemplating divorce. Newlyweds
Nell and Milo Buck, whose honeymoon is over, must now face real life.
A self-effacing young Korean woman, Dorothy Chen, feeling alone in a
strange land, is on her way to an American school. Five-year-old
Toby Field is traveling alone en route between his estranged parents’
houses.
After invalid Frank Briscoe, wealthy playboy Ken Childs,
worldly blonde May Holst and Italian-born fisherman and family man Jose
Locota board, businessman Humphrey Agnew, who has no reservations, buys
a seat on the plane at the last minute. With the help of third
pilot Hobie Wheeler and navigator Lenny Wilby, the plane makes a smooth
take-off, but early in the flight Dan, Sullivan and Spalding notice
unexplainable vibrations. During a rest break, while the insecure
Lenny chatters about his younger, alcoholic wife, Sullivan tries to
comfort himself that, according to older pilots, his mid-career fears
are temporary. Although Sullivan senses that the plane’s
propellers are out of phase, Dan and Hobie cannot confirm it.
In the passenger cabin, the Rices quarrel, as Harold
explains that he wants to buy the mine to prove he can run a business on
his own, while Ed tries to amuse the anxious Pardee with tales of their
nightmare vacation. Dan and Sullivan’s vague misgivings seem
confirmed when Spalding notices vibrations in the back kitchen, but Dan
inspects the fuel compartment and finds nothing amiss.
A couple of hours into the flight, after the plane passes
the point of no return and cannot go back to Honolulu if trouble occurs,
Agnew accuses Childs of making love to his wife in Honolulu.
Although Childs truthfully insists he is innocent, Agnew pulls out a gun
and shoots, igniting a fire, which is quickly extinguished.
However, the bullet ruptures a gas tank and twists one of the motors in
its mounting, causing a severe drag. The pilots radio for help,
but can only reach Gonzalez, an amateur operator on a merchant ship
below. Gonzalez relays their message to the San Francisco Coast
Guard, who sends rescue planes prepared to make a water rescue.
After calculating that they need to lessen the load to
extend their gas usage, Dan rallies the passengers to dump their luggage
out of the plane and into the sea. The activity brings the
passengers together, as they relay luggage down the aisle to Dan, who
pitches them out the hatch; afterward they find that their individual
problems seem less important. Overcoming his own fears, Pardee
comforts Ed’s wife, who worries about her young children, and Lillian,
seeing her husband’s bravery, finds her love rekindled. Dorothy
and Briscoe befriend each other, May and Childs find companionship, and
the fatherly Locota, who confiscated Agnew’s gun, scolds the belligerent
man into better behavior. Lydia begins to see that she really
loves Harold, who needs her emotional support, and Sally removes her
makeup, as she now feels secure enough to face her fiancée honestly.
Although they secretly know that the heavy wind will not
permit a safe water landing, Spalding and Hobie instruct the passengers
on the use of life jackets and lifeboats. Lenny, having been
distracted by thoughts of his marital problems, realizes that the coast
is eleven minutes farther than he originally believed. While their
colleagues on the ground prepare for the worst, Sullivan panics and
prepares to ditch, but Dan slaps him back to his senses and takes over.
After ordering a recalculation of their gas supply and weather
conditions, Dan determines that they can just barely land safely at the
San Francisco airport. Airport employees clear and light the
runway, and the rescue planes fly nearby as guides, but all watch
anxiously, as Dan and the crew bring the plane through turbulence and
fog to a safe landing.
As the plight of the airplane has made news, the
disembarking passengers are greeted by the flash bulbs of reporters’
cameras. Locota’s large family is waiting for him, and Sally’s
future husband greets her warmly. Briscoe, whose exit is assisted
by Dorothy, invites Spalding to join them for a steak dinner in town.
Having slept through it all, young Toby awakens unchanged by the trip,
but his mother, who was shaken by her son’s brush with death, has
decided to reconcile with her husband. Chastened, Agnew
immediately calls his wife to apologize. When the crowd is gone,
airport administrator Jim Garfield informs Dan that there were only
thirty gallons of gas left in the tank. Dan, acknowledging the risk he
took, goes off alone, whistling. |
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