John Chard

There's just a hole where the pilots usually sit! A 747 in flight collides with a small plane and is rendered pilotless. With one of the cabin crew stewardesses forced to take the helm, the control tower must try to get a pilot aboard so the jet can land safely... With the disaster genre of film now in full effect by the mid 70s, it was inevitable that we would see a follow up to the forerunner that was Airport (1970). One again we get a star cast list, this time thrust into mid-air peril where standard genre conventions apply. Unfortunately this is one of the weakest genre entries of the decade, where suspense is hard to find, and in fact it often comes off like unintentional comedy. Draw card actor Charlton Heston is wasted, as is George Kennedy, while the predictability factor of how it will pan out sort of kills hope of a thrilling finale. Not a total stinker, there's some nice aerial sequences, some rich characterisations, and Karen Black as the under duress cabin crew member trying to fly the plane, is at least convincing enough to sell the terror of the situation. But really it's a tough sell, especially when you consider that genre highlight "The Towering Inferno" was released this same year. 5/10