''Crash'' (also known as ''The Crash of Flight 401'') is a 1978 made-for-TV

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

Barry Shear Barry Shear (March 23, 1923 in New York City – June 13, 1979 in Los Angeles) was an American film and television director and producer. Career Television career Shear began directing for television in the 1950s for the DuMont Television Net ...

and based on the true story of the first crash of a

wide-body aircraft A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabi ...

, that of

Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a scheduled flight from New York JFK to Miami. Shortly before midnight on December 29, 1972, the Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar crashed into the Florida Everglades, causing 101 total fatalities. Three of the 4 cockpi ...

, a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar which crashed in the

Florida Everglades The Everglades is a natural region of tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimm ...

near

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

on the night of December 29, 1972. The film more or less follows the true events of the crash, although the names of key characters were changed and certain dramatic events were fictionalized. The crash sequence was one of the most authentic (and expensive) for television of the time, using multiple stunts, pyrotechnics and flyaway set pieces. The film stars

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...

maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

National Transportation Safety Board crash investigator Carl Tobias, who is called in to review the jetliner crash under pressure from his superiors to

exonerate Exoneration occurs when the conviction for a crime is reversed, either through demonstration of innocence, a flaw in the conviction, or otherwise. Attempts to exonerate convicts are particularly controversial in death penalty cases, especially w ...

Lockheed of responsibility. Although the film implies that Lockheed was

negligent Negligence (Lat. ''negligentia'') is a failure to exercise appropriate and/or ethical ruled care expected to be exercised amongst specified circumstances. The area of tort law known as ''negligence'' involves harm caused by failing to act as a ...

in the design of the TriStar's flight control systems, it concludes by citing the NTSB's official determination that the crash was due to

pilot error Pilot error generally refers to an accident in which an action or decision made by the pilot was the cause or a contributing factor that led to the accident, but also includes the pilot's failure to make a correct decision or take proper a ...

: the crew's failure to properly monitor the flight instruments during the last four minutes of flight. The crew was distracted by a blown light bulb in the

landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...

position indicator display panel, which caused them not to notice that they had inadvertently disengaged the

autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...

and put the TriStar into a slow, imperceptible descent.

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

portrayed the captain, and

Lane Smith Walter Lane Smith III (April 29, 1936 – June 13, 2005) was an American actor. His well-known roles included newspaper editor Perry White in the ABC series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', Walter Warner in '' Son in Law'', co ...

, in an early role, portrayed the hospitalized and barely alive surviving flight engineer who alerts Tobias to a computer "mismatch" in the autopilot. The cast also included

Adrienne Barbeau Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...

and

Sharon Gless Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American actress and author, who is known for her television roles as Maggie Philbin on ''Switch'' (1975–78), Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series ''Cagney & Lacey'' (1982 ...

, whose characters were based on the actual flight attendants tending to the passengers that fateful night. Lorraine Gary,

Ed Nelson Edwin Stafford Nelson (December 21, 1928 – August 9, 2014) was an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Michael Rossi in the television series '' Peyton Place''. Nelson appeared in episodes of many TV programs, more than 50 mov ...

, and

Ron Glass Ronald Earle Glass (July 10, 1945 – November 25, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as literary Det. Ron Harris in the television sitcom ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1982), and as the spiritual shepherd, Shepherd Book, in the ...

played noteworthy passengers.

Cast

- Carl Tobias *

- Captain Dunn *

- Veronica Daniels *

Brooke Bundy Brooke Bundy is an American film and television actress. Early years As a teenager, Bundy was a model in New York before she went to Hollywood on vacation and remained there to become an actress. While in New York, she attended the Profession ...

- Camille Lawrence *

Christopher Connelly Christopher Connelly (September 8, 1941 – December 7, 1988) was an American actor, best known for his role as Norman Harrington in the successful prime time ABC soap opera '' Peyton Place''. He stayed with the series during its entire f ...

- Mike Tagliarino * Lorraine Gary - Emily Mulwray *

- Jerry Grant *

- Lesley Fuller *

Joyce Jameson Joyce Jameson (born Joyce Beverly Kingsley; September 26, 1932 – January 16, 1987) was an American actress, known for many television roles, including recurring guest appearances as Skippy, one of the "fun girls" in the 1960s television seri ...

- Sophie Cross *

George Maharis George Maharis (born September 1, 1928) is an American actor who portrayed Buz Murdock in the first three seasons of the TV series ''Route 66''. Maharis also recorded numerous pop music albums at the height of his fame, and later starred in t ...

- Evan Walsh *

- Philip Mulwray * Gerald S. O'Loughlin - Larry Cross *

Joe Silver Joe Silver (September 28, 1922 – February 27, 1989) was an American stage, television, film and radio actor. His distinctive deep voice was once described as "the lowest voice in show business; so low that when he speaks, he unties your sho ...

- Alvin Jessop *

- Flight Engineer Dominic Romano *Laraine Stephens - Ginny Duffy *Richard Yniguez - Osario

External links

*
The Crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401
American docudrama films 1978 television films 1978 films ABC network original films American aviation films Films about aviation accidents or incidents 1978 drama films Films set in 1972 Films set in Florida American drama television films 1970s American films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub