Death flight 401
Movie | |
---|---|
German title | Death flight 401 |
Original title | Crash |
Country of production | United States |
original language | English |
Publishing year | 1978 |
length | 95 minutes |
Rod | |
Director | Barry Shear |
script |
Donald S. Sanford Steve Brown |
production | Edward Montagne |
music | Eddy Lawrence Manson |
camera |
Jacques R. Marquette James Pergola |
cut | Sam E. Waxman |
occupation | |
|
The flight of death 401 (English original title Crash ) is a specially developed for television docudrama that was released in 1978 and is based on the true story of the first crash of a wide-body aircraft, that of Eastern Air Lines flight 401 , a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar , which crashed in the Everglades near Miami on the night of December 29, 1972 . The film is more or less based on the true events of the crash, although the names of the key characters have been changed and certain dramatic events have been invented. The crash sequence was one of the most authentic (and expensive) for television of its time, using multiple stunts, pyrotechnics, and set pieces.
action
The film shows William Shatner as the outsider of the crash investigator of the National Transportation Safety Board, Carl Tobias, who, under pressure from his superiors, is supposed to investigate the jetliner crash in order to free Lockheed from his responsibility. While the film implies that Lockheed was negligent in developing the TriStar flight control systems, it concludes by citing the NTSB's official statement that the crash was due to a pilot's error: the crew failed to properly monitor the flight instruments for the past four minutes. The crew were distracted by a burned out lightbulb in the landing gear position display, which prevented them from realizing that they had accidentally turned off the autopilot and put the TriStar into a slow, imperceptible descent. Eddie Albert portrayed the captain and Lane Smith, in an early role, portrayed the in-hospital flight engineer who advises Tobias of a computer mismatch in the autopilot. The cast also included Adrienne Barbeau and Sharon Gless, whose characters were based on the actual flight attendants who looked after passengers that fateful night. Lorraine Gary, Ed Nelson and Ron Glass played notable passengers.
Web links
- Death Flight 401 in the Internet Movie Database (English)