Panic in the Skies! (TV 1996)

The cockpit of a Boeing 747 is struck by lightning during takeoff for a flight to Europe, fatally injuring the flight crew. Laurie, the senior flight attendant, enlists the aid of passenger... See full summary »

Director:

Paul Ziller

Writers:

Rick Rosner (story), Robert Hamilton (story),

Stars:

Kate Jackson, Ed Marinaro, Erik Estrada

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kate Jackson	...	Laurie Ann Pickett
Ed Marinaro	...	Brett Young
Erik Estrada	...	Ethan Walker
Maureen McCormick	...	Flight Attendant
Billy Warlock	...	F.A. Matt Eisenhauer
Howard Dell	...	Charles Buckman (as Howard G.H. Dell)
Robert Maloney
Brandy Ledford	...	F.A. Charlene Davis
Kehli O'Byrne	...	Tukey, Walker's Assistant
Robert Guillaume	...	Rob Barnes
Michael Buie	...	Darryl (as Mike Buie)
Ken Camroux	...	Derek Green
Marilyn Norry	...	Donna Preston
Marc Baur	...	Ed Handler
Brett Stone	...	Lydia Chambers

Storyline

The cockpit of a Boeing 747 is struck by lightning during takeoff for a flight to Europe, fatally injuring the flight crew. Laurie, the senior flight attendant, enlists the aid of passenger Brett Young. They determine that the autopilot can bring the plane in for a landing, but soon learn that the autopilot is locking onto the transponders of airfields at random, including signals from small airports with runways too short to accommodate the jumbo jet. Meanwhile, federal officials on the ground who have lost radio contact with the jet debate whether the plane should be shot down to prevent a more disastrous crash in a heavily populated area.

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Plot Keywords:

lightning | airplane

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Taglines:

Terror at 35,000 Feet, and Falling.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alerte en plein vol

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daniel L. Paulson Productions, MTM Entertainment, Regent Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 120 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Flight Management System computers on commercial aircraft don't run under Microsoft Windows 95.

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Quotes

Ethan Walker: You get me back in the habit of saying please and thank you, and I'll buy you a cat.

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Connections

Referenced in Ma vie en l'air (2005)

User Reviews

So bad, it's good!

This movie is the best bad plane movie I've ever seen! I mean, they have all the cliches - Pregnant Woman, Pilots Dead (crispy!), A computer guy plugging his Laptop in to run the autopilot, the discovery of a felon onboard, etc. Just when you think the cheese can't get any better, it does!

Lots of awful acting to boot, horrible special effects, an attack by a angry dog, etc. If you watch it (ack), or rent it (ACK!), be aware of what you're getting yourself into!

Great to watch with friends who like to cut movies apart though!