Airport 1975 (1974)

Airport 1975 (1974) is a disaster film that follows the success of its predecessor, the film Airport. The story centers around Columbia Airlines Flight 409, a Boeing 747-100 on a late-night trip from Washington Dulles International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport. On the same route is Scott Freeman, a businessman heading to Boise, Idaho in his private Beechcraft Baron for a sales meeting. However, an occluded front causes their flight paths to be redirected to Salt Lake City International Airport. With both aircraft now headed for Salt Lake, air traffic control instructs Columbia 409 to land before Freeman’s Beechcraft. As they begin their descent, First Officer Urias gets up from his seat to investigate a vibration. Suddenly, Freeman suffers a heart attack and accidentally ascends into the path of Columbia 409.

As the Beechcraft crashes into Columbia 409 just above the co-pilot seat, it creates a hole where Urias is ejected and kills the flight engineer. Debris from the impact also blinds Captain Stacy, but she manages to activate the autopilot and altitude hold switch before losing consciousness. Upon hearing of the chaos in the cockpit, First Stewardess Nancy Pryor rushes to help. She quickly contacts the Salt Lake control tower to report on the crew’s condition and inform them that there is no one left to fly the plane. Meanwhile, Joe Patroni, Vice President of Operations for Columbia and whose family is onboard, is informed of the situation.