''Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501'', (also released as ''Aftermath'', ''Aftermath: The Mystery of Flight 1501'' and ''The Mysterious Crash of Flight 1501''), is a 1990 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Philip Saville Philip Saville (28 October 1927 – 22 December 2016) was a British director, screenwriter and former actor whose career lasted half a century. The British Film Institute's Screenonline website described Saville as "one of Britain's most prolifi ...

. The film stars Cheryl Ladd and

Jeffrey DeMunn Jeffrey DeMunn (born April 25, 1947) is an American stage, film and television actor known for playing Captain Esteridge in '' The Hitcher'' (1986), Sheriff Herb Geller in ''The Blob'' (1988), Andrei Chikatilo in '' Citizen X'' (1995), Harry Terwi ...

. Although fictional, ''Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501'' is usually advertised as being based on true events.

Plot

Diane ( Cheryl Ladd) and Greg Halstead (

Doug Sheehan Douglas "Doug" Stuart Sheehan (born April 27, 1949) is an American actor who played Ben Gibson throughout four seasons of the prime-time drama ''Knots Landing'' from 1983 to 1987. His character was the second husband of Valene Ewing ( Joan Van A ...

) were once happily married, in later years, even deciding to try to have a baby, despite the fact that she had already suffered two miscarriages. She does not become pregnant and becomes estranged from her husband. On his latest ConWest Airlines flight, Greg, a professional pilot, is alerted to a

bomb threat A bomb threat or bomb scare is a threat, usually verbal or written, to detonate an explosive or incendiary device to cause property damage, death, injuries, and/or incite fear, whether or not such a device actually exists. History Bomb threat ...

. The person carrying the bomb supposedly wants to kill another passenger, Senator Charleston (John Rayburn) a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

with an outspoken opinion on

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

. Unknown to the killer, however, the politician has already left the

McDonnell Douglas DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. Afte ...

airliner because of an hour-and-a-half delay. Greg decides to make an emergency landing in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

, but due to severe thunderstorms, the DC-9 crashes, killing almost everyone on board. The

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

, and National Transportation Safety Board jointly investigate scene of the accident. Amid speculation about the cause of the crash, some suspect Greg of refusing to follow orders. The FBI notices that the CIA immediately collected cargo out of the wreckage and labeled it top secret. Diane is devastated when she hears the news, until she finds out that Greg is one of the few survivors. She is contacted by Scott Cody (

), who works for the

Air Line Pilots Association, International The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is the largest pilot union in the world, representing more than 59,000 pilots from 35 U.S. and Canadian airlines. ALPA was founded on 27 July 1931 and is a member of the AFL-CIO and the Canadia ...

union. He tells her that Greg is the prime suspect in the crash investigation and collects information from her, finding out that Greg was on medication. Stirred up by news reporter Spense Zolman (

Jim Metzler Jim Metzler (born June 23, 1951) is an American actor, best known for guest-appearances on popular TV series. In 1983, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in the 1982 film ''Tex''. Filmography Films *''Squeeze Play ...

), who senses a good story, the investigators find there was no bomb on board, and all the evidence points to Greg. Cody finds out that the CIA was spying on the aircraft with on-board surveillance equipment, interfering with the aircraft's radar. Diane asks if that was the reason why Greg crashed, but Cody explains that it is more complicated. Meanwhile, Greg dies from his injuries. Diane makes an official statement in which she claims her husband was not responsible, but she is not considered a reliable source, in view of the fact that she could lose pension and other benefits. Diane refuses to accept that her husband will be blamed for the crash and does everything to get the entire truth revealed. With the help of a few experts, she is able to prove that there was a fire in the cargo hold of the aircraft, the fire starting by spontaneous combustion of a piece of cargo, this in turn caused the crash.

Cast

* Cheryl Ladd as Diane Halstead *

as Scott Cody *

Frederick Coffin Frederick D. Coffin (January 16, 1943 – July 31, 2003) was an American film actor, singer, songwriter, and musician. Early life Coffin was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943 to actress Winifred Deforest Coffin and writer Dean Coffin, and was ...

as Wes Goddard *

Peter Jurasik Peter Jurasik ( ; born April 25, 1950) is an American actor known for his television roles as Londo Mollari in the 1990s science fiction series ''Babylon 5'' and Sid the Snitch on the 1980s series ''Hill Street Blues'' and its short-lived spin ...

as Bob Stanton *

as Spence Zolman *

Jeff McCarthy Jeffrey Charles McCarthy (born October 16, 1954) is an American actor and director. Early life McCarthy was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Santa Maria, California - growing up blocks away from the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, ...

as Chet Harmon * Moira Walley as Pamela Hayes *

as Gregory "Greg" Halstead * Ray Blunk as Switzer *

Zachery Ty Bryan Zachery Ty Bryan (born October 9, 1981) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for his role as Brad Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement''. He also appeared in the films '' True Heart'' and '' The Fast and the Furious: ...

as Child (uncredited) * Paula Preston as Dixie * Gregory Feith as Co-Pilot Pasco (credited as

Greg Feith Gregory Allen Feith is an American former Senior Air Safety Investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). He currently works as a consultant on aviation safety and security matters in the private sector, and as the aviation ...

) * Jamie Horton as Agent Bryce * Sheila Ivy Traister as Georgia Kimm * Stephen West as Nickerson * John Rayburn as Sen. Charleston * Michael K. Osborn as Dr. Larwin * Pat Mahoney as Chadwick * Liz Jury as Emma * Mike Leopard as Lt. Owens * Linda Otto as Harriet * Dutch Shindler as Keeler * Joe Horváth as Booth (credited as Joe Horvath)

Production

With the working titles, ''Aftermath: The Mystery of Flight 1501'' and ''The Mysterious Crash of Flight 1501'', the television film was mainly a studio-made affair with stock aerial footage.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

began on July 17, 1990 and was finished by August that year. The aircraft depicted in ''Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501'' is the ubiquitous

DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. After ...

or its look-alike twin McDonnell Douglas MD-80. The aircraft is flown by the fictional ConWest Airlines, flight 1501, on the Baltimore–Kansas City–San Francisco route.

Historical context

In 1996, six years after the release of ''Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501'',

ValuJet Flight 592 ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 was a regularly scheduled flight from Miami International Airport to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. On May 11, 1996, the ValuJet Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operating the route crashed into t ...

, a DC-9, as depicted in the film, crashed after dangerous goods illegally loaded into the cargo compartment caused an in-flight fire which brought down the aircraft. The accident was a startlingly similar echo of the events in the film."NTSB Report AAR97-06."
''National Transportation Safety Board'', May 11, 1996. Retrieved: April 2, 2017.

Reception

In a later review of ''Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501'', Sergio Ortego in ''airodyssey.net'', commented: "I like the depiction of the media and their misinterpretation of air disasters. Cheryl Ladd and the other actors are convincing, but the special effects and footage used aren’t." Andy Webb, in his review for ''The Movie Scene'' pinpointed the problems with the film: "What this all boils down to is as a whole movie 'Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501' doesn't work; it is too contrived and now seriously dated. But the various elements of the movie are interesting and it is a case that less would have made 'Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501' more."Webb, Andy

''themoviescene''. Retrieved: April 2, 2017.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Pearcy, Arthur. ''Douglas DC-9''. London: Voyageur Press, 1994. .

External links

* * * {{amg movie, 124685 1990 films 1990 television films 1990 drama films 1990s mystery films American aviation films Films about the Central Intelligence Agency Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation Films scored by Mark Snow Films about aviation accidents or incidents Drama films based on actual events Films directed by Philip Saville NBC network original films 1990s American films