Andrew Gillies, Anne Openshaw, Kevin Jubinville (2/06 Rough Air)
Excerpt from Air Odyssey 2/06: Andrew Gillies,Kevin Jubinville (Todd Wiley in "Meaning of Death", Anne Openshaw (Sgt. Angel Dorn in "Dark Star Rising")
rough air: danger on flight 534
by Tristan Hankins
Mike Hogan (Eric Roberts) is a pilot with AirJet Atlantic, an international carrier. After he crash landed a 737 (with no major injuries), he was suspended by the airline and has not flown since. He meets Arch Davis (Andrew Gillies) with AirJet operations at London Heathrow Airport, and is told that flight 534 has been delayed two hours, and that Arch has 132 irate passengers on his hands. On top of that, the two pilots on AirJet 534 are unable to fly Boston due to union regulations and Arch has been left without any pilots. He asks if Hogan is willing to fly 534 to Boston as First Officer, and tells him he will be flying with Jack Brooks (Kevin Jubinville), AirJet's "Captain of the Year".
Aboard AirJet 534, we meet flight attendants Katy Phillips (Alexandra Paul) and first-timer Tracey Nichols (Anne Openshaw). Later we learn that Katy is also Mike's ex-girlfriend. We have, of course, the usual suspects aboard flight 534: the irate, troublesome businessman, a soccer star and his manager, the single mother and her rebellious teenage son, the airline mechanic and his wife, the convicted murderer being escorted by a detective and a group of rambunctious, pre-med college students. Mike meets Captain Brooks in the cockpit, and learns that he is a "strictly by-the-book company man" who is more than a little arrogant and self-righteous.
Meanwhile, the ground crews are loading several containers into AirJet 534's forward hold. One baggage handler checks the inside of the baggage hold, and inspects a pile of luggage (and other things, including a German Shepard) that have been poorly fastened down. There is a problem, though. The forward cargo door refuses to latch. After several attempts, it closes but we see that the locking mechanism has not operated as it should.
AirJet 534 departs London and, soon after, makes contact with Shanwick Control. There is suddenly a loud bang, and the entire aircraft begins to shudder. Captain Brooks was standing at the time, and is thrown about in the cockpit and knocked unconscious. We see the cargo door separate, and impact the tailplane and vertical stabiliser. AirJet 534 suddenly enters a steep dive, and Mike reports that he has lost control of the aircraft. Rapidly loosing altitude and descending towards the Atlantic, Mike seems powerless to control the severely damaged aircraft. To make matters worse, the cabin is depressurising and the passengers are rapidly running out of air...
....
Specifications
U.S.A., 2001, Produced by Carlton Entertainment and Tele München Gruppe. Directed by Jon Cassar. Starring Eric Roberts, Alexandra Paul, Kevin Jubinville, Anne Openshaw. Rated PG.
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