Airport '77
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Jerry Jameson |
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| Based on | Airport, based on the novel by Arthur Hailey |
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| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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113 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $30 million |
Airport '77 is a 1977 American air disaster film and the third installment of the Airport franchise. The film stars a number of veteran actors including Jack Lemmon, James Stewart, Joseph Cotten and Olivia de Havilland, as well as the return of George Kennedy from the two previous Airport films. It is directed by Jerry Jameson, produced by Jennings Lang and William Frye with a screenplay by Michael Scheff and David Spector.
The plot concerns a private Boeing 747 packed with V.I.Ps and priceless art that is hijacked before crashing into the ocean in the Bermuda Triangle, prompting the survivors to undertake a desperate struggle for survival.
Despite mixed critical reviews, Airport '77 was a box office hit with earnings of $30 million; making the film the 19th highest-grossing picture of 1977. It was nominated for two Academy Awards.
A privately owned luxury Boeing 747-100, Stevens' Flight 23, flies invited guests to an estate in Palm Beach, Florida, owned by wealthy philanthropist Philip Stevens, who also owns the jetliner. Valuable artwork from Stevens's private collection is also on board the jetliner, to be eventually displayed in his new museum. Such a collection motivates a group of thieves led by co-pilot Bob Chambers to hijack the aircraft.
Once Captain Don Gallagher leaves the cockpit and is knocked unconscious, the hijackers' plans go into action. A sleeping gas, which one of the hijackers secretly installed before the flight, is released into the cabin and the passengers lose consciousness. Knocking out the flight engineer, Chambers moves forward with the hijacking, and Stevens' Flight 23 "disappears" into the Bermuda Triangle. Descending to virtual wave-top altitude, Flight 23 heads into a fog bank, reducing visibility to less than a mile. Minutes later, a large offshore drilling platform emerges from the haze, Flight 23 heading straight for it at nearly 600 knots.
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Wikipedia