Landings we can't walk away from
Movies about airplane crashes. That's what this list started out to be. But there aren't many movies ABOUT airplane crashes. "Fate is the Hunter" is a perfect example. I expanded my criteria to include movies where an airplane crash is a major element of the story "The Ghost of Flight 401".
List activity
70 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
61 titles
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsJames StewartRichard AttenboroughPeter FinchAfter an oil company plane crashes in the Sahara, the survivors' hopes are buoyed by one of the passengers, an airplane designer who comes up with a plan to build a flyable plane from the wreckage.The original. I don't include the remake in this list. None of the events in this movie would have happened if their airplane had not crashed.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsGlenn FordNancy KwanRod TaylorAn airline executive refuses to believe that pilot error, by his friend, caused a fatal crash and persists in looking for another reason.One of my favorites. And the movie is about a plane crash.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsGary MerrillNancy ReaganIrene HerveyAirplane passengers prepare for a crash landing in the ocean.
- DirectorWilliam ClemensStarsTom ConwayJean BrooksElaine ShepardAfter a passenger plane crash lands at a local airport, the rescue crew is shocked to find there is no one aboard.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonHenry HathawayStarsBurt LancasterDean MartinGeorge KennedyA bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved.Maybe I shouldn't have included this one since there was not an actual crash. Just an explosion.
- DirectorJohn G. BlystoneStarsHelen ChandlerJohn GarrickGilbert EmeryJack Bardell, a British aviator in World War I, a dashing hero to all who know him, is discharged following an airplane crash that occurred under suspicious circumstances. Invalided to private life, to the shame of his father, Lord Bardell, he gets his chance for redemption during a German Zepplin attack over London. He puts on a good show.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsChester MorrisLucille BallWendy BarrieA plane has engine trouble while flying over a jungle inhabited by cannibals.
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsEthan HawkeVincent SpanoJosh HamiltonAfter crash-landing in the snowswept Andes, a Uruguayan rugby team has no choice but to turn to desperate measures in order to survive.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksHelen HuntPaul SanchezA FedEx executive undergoes a physical and emotional transformation after crash landing on a deserted island.
- DirectorJeff BlecknerStarsMandy PatinkinEric CloseKevin DunnA team of federal investigators have to comb through the wreckage of a crashed airplane to find the cause of the fatal downing. Was it terrorism? Negligence? Human failure? Or just a tragic accident?
- DirectorBoris SagalStarsHarold J. StoneFredd WayneNoah KeenFederal aviation investigator Grant Sheckly must deal with a mystery when a plane lands at an airport without pilots, passengers or luggage.Maybe this should not be included since the crash alluded to takes place in the past. But I guess it is a major plot element. One of the best Twilight Zone episodes.
- DirectorWilliam BeaudineStarsForrest TuckerCarol HughesEvelyn BrentA test pilot and his weather observer develop a "robot" control so airplanes can be flown without pilots, but enemy agents get wind of it and try to steal it or destroy it.
- DirectorHerbert L. StrockStarsWhit BissellPhyllis CoatesRobert BurtonProfessor Frankenstein creates a hulking teenager from the body of an accident victim; his "creation" awakens and goes on a killing spree.Every time I see this title on the list I have to check to see if it really belongs. Yep, it does.
- DirectorChristy CabanneStarsLloyd HughesMarceline DayWheeler OakmanBob Rogers (Lloyd Hughes), a former World War One flying ace, loses his license after crashing an airplane while drunk. He works his way back into the commercial airline service by tracking down the bandits who have been robbing the Air Express.
- DirectorDavid HemmingsStarsRobert PowellJenny AgutterJoseph CottenWhen an airline pilot survives a crash that kills all 300 passengers, he works with a psychic and a priest to find the culprit behind the incident and pacify the souls of the victims.
- DirectorRobert BergerPatrick DanielsKarlyn MichelsonStarsRobert BergerPatrick DanielsNoel DinneenA documentary derived entirely from 'Black Box' transcripts of six real-life major airline emergencies.Originally a play, it uses actual cockpit voice recorder transcripts from airplane crashes as the script. Great idea I think.
- DirectorHall BartlettStarsDana AndrewsLinda DarnellSterling HaydenIn 1950s Canada, during a commercial flight, the pilots and some passengers suffer food poisoning, thus forcing an ex-WWII fighter pilot (Dana Andrews) to try to land the airliner in heavy fog.I probably should remove this since there is no airplane crash.
- DirectorCharles FrendStarsMichael CraigPeter CushingBernard LeeIn Britain, at the dawn of jet-powered commercial aviation, an aircraft manufacturer tries to shift the blame from mechanical failure to pilot error when its newest jet airliner has a series of accidents.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsJames StewartMarlene DietrichGlynis JohnsAn aeronautical engineer predicts that a new model of airplane will fail catastrophically and in a novel manner after a specific number of flying hours due to metal fatigue.I saw this movie when I was a kid and loved it ever since.
- DirectorD. Ross LedermanStarsLyle TalbotAnn DvorakGordon WestcottBob "three star" is the hotshot pilot for Trans America Lines. When he is not flying for the airlines, he can get into trouble doing aerobatics over the field. His main squeeze is Judy Wagner, a stewardess for the airlines. Tom Wagner, her younger brother has just started flying for the line. Tom and Bob are to fly on a secret mission to carry a scientist with a new high explosive mixture to Washington. Unfortunately, Jason, secretary to Mr. Lackey, is working for a secret foreign power and hears about the flight. This causes Bob to get jumped before the flight so another pilot, George, volunteers to take Bob's place. When the plane explodes in flight, there is a race between government agents to get the mixture back and the bad guys to get the mixture out of the country.Pretty decent movie. Crash caused by explosion. By the look of the co-pilot's hat I'd say that is where they hid the bomb.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsDenzel WashingtonNadine VelazquezDon CheadleTroubling questions arise after airline pilot Whip Whitaker makes a miracle landing after a mid-air catastrophe.
- DirectorJerry JamesonStarsJack LemmonLee GrantJoseph CottenArt thieves hijack a 747, hit fog and crash into the ocean, trapping them and the passengers under one hundred feet of water.
- DirectorGiuseppe Maria ScoteseStarsSusan PenhaligonPaul MullerGraziella GalvaniA seventeen-year-old schoolgirl is the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Peruvian Amazon.
- DirectorPeter MarkleStarsJeffrey NordlingBrennan ElliottKendall CrossFlight 93 is the story of the heroic passengers that took back their plane in an effort to stop a 9-11 terrorist attack.
- DirectorEnrique PiñeyroStarsEnrique PiñeyroMercedes MoránAlejandro AwadaThe film tells the story prior to the accident LAPA Boeing 737 on 31 August 1999 after hitting an embankment in central Buenos Aires, killing 67 people. Directed and performed by a former pilot of the same company, this film reveals a complex web of complicity between the Air Force and the company to circumvent security controls in order to obtain greater economic benefit in operations.