Film Review: Flight
Whip and the air stewardess (Nadine Valazquez) arrive on time to take the flight. Whip’s co-pilot is a novice and likes doing things by the book. Whip is kind and looks after him a bit like a father figure. Take off is smooth and everyone is ready for a comfortable flight. Shortly after takeoff they hit a ferocious storm. Ground control advised reducing their speed and to descend. Whip knew better. He had spotted a hole in the cloud further on so he ascended and accelerated. This was a pilot on automatic pilot brain power with a ton of experience.
The film is about reliance on people. Whip knew he had to break the rules to survive. Override of the system was the only thing that would work. The only thought in his mind was to save the passengers. The alcohol was not the problem but the faulty aircraft. He battled on, on his own. To land the plane at all he had to invert it, which he miraculously managed to do and before landing he managed to straighten the plane with the help of the stewardess who had been trying to keep the passengers under control. Finally, the plane glided to a stop in a field and 96 lives out of 202 were saved.
The final sequence to the film covers the inquest to the crash. The easy outcome would be to blame another intoxicated person on the flight. However, Whip had come to the end of lies. He declared his guilt. No other pilot was capable of doing the same manoeuvre in a simulator. He was sent to a few years in prison and established a meeting for the inmates similar to AA. Everyone looks happy at the end except possibly the airline who would have had to pay a lot in compensation.