''Mayday at 40,000 Feet!'' (aka ''Panic in the Open Sky'' and ''Mayday: 40,000 ft!'') is a 1976 American made-for-television drama film, directed by Robert Butler. The film stars

David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer) (March 27, 1931February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen also ...

Don Meredith Joseph "Dandy" Don Meredith (April 10, 1938 – December 5, 2010) was an American football quarterback, sports commentator, and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career (1960–1968) with the Dallas Cowboys of the Na ...

and

Christopher George Christopher John George (Greek: Χριστόφορος Γεωργίου; February 25, 1931 – November 28, 1983) was an American television and film actor who starred in the 1960s television series ''The Rat Patrol''. He was nominated for a Gol ...

, along with an all-star cast primarily playing the roles of passengers and crew aboard an airliner in crisis.Erickson, Hal
"Movie Review: Mayday at 40,000 Feet!"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved: December 10, 2014. Robert Butler was "... one of the premium directors of series TV through four decades", although he also became a specialist in "one-off" television and film features. ''Mayday at 40,000 Feet!'' was an example of the 1970s "disaster" film, as well, it also very much fits the additional

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

of the complex, heavily character-driven

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

picture. The film explores the personal dramas and interactions that develop among the passengers and crew as they deal with a deadly onboard emergency.

Plot

During a major snow storm, Transcon Airways Flight 602,

Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...

airliner piloted by Captain Pete Douglas (David Janssen), First Officer Stan Burkhart (Christopher George) and Second Officer Mike Fuller (Don Meredith) on a flight from Los Angeles to New York, makes a scheduled stop in Salt Lake City. Greco (

Marjoe Gortner Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner (born January 14, 1944) is a former Evangelism, evangelist preacher and actor. He first gained public attention during the late 1940s when his parents arranged for him to be Ordination, ordained as a preacher at age four ...

), a two-time killer in the custody of Sam Riese, a Federal Marshal (

Broderick Crawford William Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Willie Stark in ''All t ...

) comes aboard. Among the passengers are Burkhart's girlfriend, nurse Susan McKenzie (

Margaret Blye Margaret Jane Blye (October 24, 1942 – March 24, 2016) was an American actress, also sometimes billed as Margaret Bly. She was best known for playing Michael Caine's girlfriend in ''The Italian Job'' (1969). Early years Her sister was casti ...

) and Joseph Mannheim (

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

) a disillusioned and possibly disgraced medical doctor drowning his problems with scotch. Captain Douglas has a family emergency that is making him anxious to return home as soon as possible. After leaving Salt Lake City, the Federal Marshal suffers a fatal heart attack and his prisoner gets his gun. In the ensuing scuffle, Greco fires wildly, wounding the pilot and Susan McKenzie, as well as puncturing the hydraulic oil lines controlling all major systems on the airliner, including flaps and landing gear. Fuller tackles Greco and knocks him unconscious, disarming him and putting one of the passengers, an Army officer, in charge of the prisoner. While the remaining flight crew take charge of the cockpit, head flight attendant Terry Dunlap (

Shani Wallis Shani Wallis (born 14 April 1933) is a British actress and singer, who has worked in theatre, film, and television in both her native United Kingdom and in the United States. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she is perhaps best ...

) with flight attendants Cathy Armello (

Lynda Day George Lynda Louise Day George (born December 11, 1944) is an American television and film actress whose career spanned three decades from the 1960s to the 1980s. She was a cast member on '' Mission: Impossible'' (1971–1973). She was also the wife ...

) and Cindy Jensen ( Christopher Norris), tend to the passengers. A severe snowstorm has closed nearly all Midwestern airports, thus forcing the crippled aircraft with its badly wounded passengers to endure a three-hour flight to Chicago. The extended flight time puts the survival of the wounded pilot and passenger tended by Dr. Mannheim, in a precarious state and it is questionable whether the co-pilot and flight engineer will have sufficient control to land the aircraft safely. A crosswind makes the landing at Chicago extremely tricky and Burkhart and Fuller must wrestle with the controls to keep the 727 from veering off the runway. The pilots see the emergency vehicles off to the aircraft's right as they touch down on the runway with several hard bounces. As the 727 slows down, the pilots must continue their fight to keep the aircraft under control. As the emergency vehicles approach the aircraft, Greco makes another escape attempt but is foiled by Burkhart who subdues him. Captain Douglas and Susan McKenzie are placed aboard ambulances and rushed to a Chicago hospital where Douglas finds out that his wife Kitty (

Jane Powell Jane Powell (born Suzanne Lorraine Burce; April 1, 1929 – September 16, 2021) was an American actress, singer, and dancer who first appeared in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals in the 1940s and 50s. With her soprano voice and girl-next-door ima ...

) has been undergoing a breast cancer biopsy that has revealed a benign tumor. Dr. Manheim announces that Susan also will make a full recovery. With that news, Douglas and Burkhart are finally relieved.

Cast

as Captain Pete Douglass *

as Mike Fuller *

as Stan Burkhart *

as Dr. Joseph Mannheim *

as Cathy Armello *

as Susan Mackenzie (credited as Maggie Blye) *

as Greco *

as Marshal Sam Riese *

Tom Drake Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as Harry Jensen * Christopher Norris as Cindy Jensen *

Hari Rhodes Hari Rhodes (April 10, 1932 – January 15, 1992) was an American author and actor whose career spanned three decades beginning around 1960. He was sometimes billed as Harry Rhodes, and appeared in 66 films and television programs, such as ABC ...

as Belson (credited as Harry Rhodes) *

Warren Vanders Warren Vanders (born Warren John Vanderschuit; May 23, 1930 – November 27, 2009) was an American character actor on television and in films. Biography He was born in San Fernando, California, as Warren John Vanderschuit. Under the name Warr ...

as Glen Meyer *

as Terry Dunlap *

as Kitty Douglass * William Bryant as Kent * John Pickard as Wynberg * Steven Marlo as Controller * James Chandler as Doctor * Philip Mansour as Surgeon (credited as Phillip Mansour) *

Al Molinaro Albert Francis Molinaro (born Umberto Francesco Molinaro; June 24, 1919 – October 30, 2015) was an American actor. He played Al Delvecchio on ''Happy Days'' and Officer Murray Greshler on ''The Odd Couple''. He also appeared in many television ...

as Forenzo * Kathleen Bracken as Julia * Bill Catching as Dowling * Norland Benson as Jerry *

Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall (September 10, 1931 – June 12, 2022) was an American character actor. Hall is known for his collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson, including '' Hard Eight'' (1996), ''Boogie Nights'' (1997) and ''Magnolia'' (1999). He als ...

as Reporter * Bert Williams as Lars *

Buck Young John Otto "Buck" Young (April 12, 1920 – February 9, 2000) was an American actor who played the role as Sergeant Whipple on the ''Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' TV series, and Deputy Joe Watson on ''The Andy Griffith Show''. In 1944, during World Wa ...

as Guard * William Harlow as 2nd Reporter (credited as Bill Harlow) * Alan Foster as 3rd Reporter * Gary McLarty as Carmichael

Production

One of the ubiquitous Boeing 727-173Cs (c/n 19507/449, N693WA), leased from

World Airways World Airways, Inc. was a United States airline headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia in Greater Atlanta. The company operated mostly non-scheduled services but did fly scheduled passenger services as well, notably with McDonnell Douglas DC ...

was painted in the fictional "Transcon Airways" livery and was extensively used in exterior aerial sequences in ''Mayday at 40,000 Feet!'' , matched with an interior set featuring the flight deck and passenger compartments. Airport scenes were filmed at the

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...

(LAX), where various air traffic control tower, terminals, runways and boarding areas were evident. Parts of the film were also shot in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. The final scenes were filmed at

Chicago O'Hare International Airport Chicago O'Hare International Airport , sometimes referred to as, Chicago O'Hare, or simply O'Hare, is the main international airport serving Chicago, Illinois, located on the city's Northwest Side, approximately northwest of the Loop business ...

(ORD).Santoir, Christian
"Panic in the Open Sky: Mayday at 40,000 Feet!"
''aeromovies''. Retrieved: December 11, 2014. Aviation film historian Christian Santoir considered ''Mayday at 40,000 Feet!'' an essentially accurate depiction of flying a Boeing 727 airliner, including the use of emergency systems. However, the film did contain significant technical errors. * Captain Douglas is seen leaving his seat from the left side. That is not possible in a Boeing 727 cockpit. * Air traffic control procedures were not accurate. * After touchdown at O'Hare airport, the first officer kept pushing the rudder pedals back and forth while the outside view shows the plane veering right and left during the rollout. That too was impossible, since the hydraulic fluid had been lost on both hydraulic systems. Neither the rudder or the nose-wheel steering can move at all, without hydraulics operating normally. * The film mentions braking attempts by the first officer, when he pushes the rudder pedals after touchdown, but it shows his feet on the bottom of those rudder pedals. It is not possible to get any braking at all, unless the pilot pushes on the top of those pedals, even if there was hydraulic brake fluid available, which the film implies there wasn't. Both hydraulic systems were destroyed by the bullets fired from the gun in the cabin.Norris and Wagner 1999, pp. 12–13.

Reception

''Mayday at 40,000 Feet!'' originally aired on CBS television on November 12, 1976. Film reviewer Simon Smith considered the film an homage to the popular ''

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

''-style brand of group-jeopardy movie-of-the-week epic. His review noted: "It’s a disarmingly camp film. Each character has a personality and I wish some of the modern-day films would bother to paint some real characters and then not kill them off after giving them a whole two scenes of character building. This film, like the original two Airport’s, focuses on characters more than the disaster which is a part of the journey, not what the whole things all about."Smith, Simon
"Film Review: Mayday At 40,000 Feet!"
''I Love Disaster Movies''. Retrieved: December 10, 2014. ''Mayday at 40,000 Feet!'' was released on DVD by Warner Bros. Digital Distribution on November 17, 2009."Mayday at 40,000 Feet!"
''allmovie.com''. Retrieved: December 10, 2014.

References

Notes Citations Bibliography * Norris, Guy and Mark Wagner. ''Modern Boeing Jetliners''. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, 1999. . * Roberts, Jerry. ''Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2009. .

External links

* *
Mayday at 40,000 Feet!
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayday at 40, 000 Feet! Films set on airplanes American aviation films 1976 television films 1976 films Films shot in Salt Lake City Films shot in Chicago Films shot in Los Angeles Films scored by Richard Markowitz 1970s English-language films Films directed by Robert Butler 1970s American films