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IMDbPro

Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771

  • TV Movie
  • 19931993
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
597
YOUR RATING
Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
Drama
A pilot ferrying a crop duster aircraft, from the United States to Australia, gets lost over the south Pacific Ocean and the pilot of a commercial airliner is his only hope of being found.A pilot ferrying a crop duster aircraft, from the United States to Australia, gets lost over the south Pacific Ocean and the pilot of a commercial airliner is his only hope of being found.A pilot ferrying a crop duster aircraft, from the United States to Australia, gets lost over the south Pacific Ocean and the pilot of a commercial airliner is his only hope of being found.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
597
YOUR RATING
    • Roger Young
    • George Rubino
    • Robert Benedetti
  • Stars
    • Robert Loggia
    • Scott Bakula
    • Rebecca Rigg
    • Roger Young
    • George Rubino
    • Robert Benedetti
  • Stars
    • Robert Loggia
    • Scott Bakula
    • Rebecca Rigg
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 15User reviews
    • 3Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos18

    Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
    Scott Bakula in Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
    Robert Loggia in Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
    Scott Bakula in Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
    Scott Bakula in Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
    Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
    Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
    Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
    Scott Bakula and Craig Huston in Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
    Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
    Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)
    Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robert Loggia
    Robert Loggia
    • Gordon Vette
    Scott Bakula
    Scott Bakula
    • Jay Parkins
    Rebecca Rigg
    Rebecca Rigg
    • Ellen
    Alan Fletcher
    Alan Fletcher
    • Frank
    Mike Bishop
    • First Officer Mann
    • (as Michael Bishop)
    Kit Taylor
    Kit Taylor
    • Capt. Warren Banks
    Suzie MacKenzie
    • Vanessa Cross
    • (as Suzie Mackenzie)
    Steven Tandy
    Steven Tandy
    • Operations Officer Hudson
    Robert Benedetti
    • Harry Hanson
    Sarah Kemp
    • Hillary Vette
    Ingrid McKillop
    • Teacher
    Peter Kent
    • Enthusiastic Man
    Sean Sturgess
    • Nervous Man
    Eddy Sentosa
    • Doctor
    Lafe Charlton
    • David
    Kate McNeil
    • Little Margaret
    Simon James
    • Little Derek
    David Clendenning
    • Oakley
      • Roger Young
      • George Rubino
      • Robert Benedetti
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Near the end of the movie, where Jay finally lands his airplane and everyone at the airport is cheering, the camera focuses on two men, one a bit taller than the other, hugging and slapping each other in celebration of Jay's landing. These are the real Jay and Gordon Vette, as this movie is based on a true story.
    • Goofs
      Air New Zealand plane is a 737 when it leaves Fiji, but a 767 thereafter.
    • Quotes

      [Vanessa Cross, the chief flight attendant, enters the flight deck]

      Gordon Vette: Ah, the new cabin boss! Have you guys met? This is Ross Mann, first officer, soon-to-be captain. Captain Warren Banks, relief pilot...

      Capt. Warren Banks: Welcome.

      Gordon Vette: Vanessa Cross.

      [Vanessa and Ross look at each other, and then she hands a paper printout to Gordon]

      Gordon Vette: You got the passenger list ready.

      Vanessa Cross: We've only 88 for the return flight. Plenty of room.

      First Officer Mann: And maybe we can pop in for a drink at Sydney on the way...

      Gordon Vette: Ross, soon-to-be captains don't hit on chief flight attendants.

      First Officer Mann: And why not?

      Vanessa Cross: Hey, Gordon! Mind your own business.

      [Ross and Gordon chuckle, Warren looks puzzled]

    User reviews15

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    A tense rescue drama made for aviation buffs.
    Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 is a tense rescue drama, made-to-order for aviation buffs! The movie starts off by introducing the main character, Jay Parkins, (played by Scott Bakula), as a kind of a rogue, itinerant pilot, unwilling to settle down to the daily grind of an airline cockpit, and preferring to take on risky flying jobs where and when he can find them. Jay and his friend Frank (Alan Fletcher), take on the task of ferrying two Piper Ag Cats, which are crop dusting aircraft, on a long-haul over the Pacific Ocean all the way from San Francisco to Australia. Obviously, the premise is ridiculous, but the movie is supposed to be based on a true story, so somewhere, there had to be two pilots crazy enough to actually try this stunt!

    Predictably, problems plague the mission. First, Frank cracks up on take off from Pago Pago, leaving Jay to continue the rest of the trip alone. Then, through a combination of mechanical failures and poor judgment, Jay gets over the Pacific Ocean on the last leg of the trip. Fortunately, both his HF and VHF radios still work, and he calls for help from an Air Traffic Control center in New Zealand. This is where Captain Gordon Vette, played by bad-guy Robert Loggia in a refreshingly non-type cast role, comes to the rescue. Utilizing a very plausible air-to-air search procedure, Capt. Vette and his Air New Zealand flight crew locate Jay, and ultimately help navigate him to safety. I won't give away any more of the plot details, but suffice it to say that as a highly critical aviation movie buff, this movie did very little to annoy me, or insult my intelligence as someone with more than a passing knowledge of aviation. Technical assistance was very good.

    The "goofs" note the transformation of the ANZ commercial aircraft from a B-737 to a B-767, but that sort of continuity problem is common and pretty much must be overlooked, since stock footage is cheaper than setting up a location shot just to depict a jet airliner take-off.

    The thing I enjoyed most about this film is the likeability of the characters, which were developed just enough to let us get to know them enough to care about them. The real Capt. Vette, an American Ex-Air Force pilot stationed in New Zealand after marrying a local girl, seems to be the ideal of the individualistic, capable, yet compassionate airline Captain -- someone into whose hands you would gladly trust your life. This is what film does best -- portray the human condition in a manner which makes the viewer identify with the characters and the situation. The rest of the plot elements -- Jay's long-suffering wife, who would prefer the financial security of her husband's boredom in an airline cockpit, Jay's side-kick Frank, who wasn't thrilled about the "mission" in the first place, and the people on the ground and aboard the Air New Zealand flight who work together to make the rescue mission work -- are all done just right, and greatly help the viewer enjoy the film!

    I give this movie 3 1/2 propeller blades out of four! It is a very interesting movie which I recommend to all aviation enthusiasts!
    helpful•12
    1
    • Larry-98
    • Jun 11, 1999

    Details

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    • Release date
      • December 13, 1993 (United States)
      • Australia
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Australia
    • Production companies
      • Anasazi Productions
      • RHI Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 35 minutes
      • Color
      • Stereo

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