''Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501'', (also released as ''Aftermath'', ''Aftermath: The Mystery of Flight 1501'' and ''The Mysterious Crash of Flight 1501''), is a 1990 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Philip Saville Philip Saville (28 October 1927 – 22 December 2016) was a British director, screenwriter and former actor whose career lasted half a century. The British Film Institute's Screenonline website described Saville as "one of Britain's most prolifi ...

. The film stars

Cheryl Ladd Cheryl Ladd (born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor; July 12, 1951) is an American actress, singer, and author best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the ABC television series '' Charlie's Angels'', whose cast she joined in its second season in 1977 ...

and

Jeffrey DeMunn Jeffrey P. DeMunn (born April 25, 1947) is an American stage, film, and television actor known for playing Captain Esteridge in '' The Hitcher'' (1986), Sheriff Herb Geller in '' The Blob'' (1988), Andrei Chikatilo in '' Citizen X'' (1995), Harry ...

. Although fictional, ''Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501'' is usually advertised as being based on true events.

Plot

Diane (

) and Greg Halstead ( Doug Sheehan) were once happily married, in later years, even deciding to try to have a baby, despite the fact that she had already suffered two

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion, is an end to pregnancy resulting in the loss and expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the womb before it can fetal viability, survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks ...

s. She does not become pregnant and becomes estranged from her husband. On his latest ConWest Airlines flight, Greg, a professional pilot, is alerted to a

bomb threat A bomb threat or bomb scare is a threat, usually verbal or written, to detonate an explosive or incendiary device to cause property damage, death, injuries, and/or incite fear, whether or not such a device actually exists. History Bomb threats ...

. The person carrying the bomb supposedly wants to kill another passenger, Senator Charleston (John Rayburn) a

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

with an outspoken opinion on

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

. Unknown to the killer, however, the politician has already left the

McDonnell Douglas DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell ...

airliner because of an hour-and-a-half delay. Greg decides to make an emergency landing in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, but due to severe thunderstorms, the DC-9 crashes, killing almost everyone on board. The

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, and

National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

jointly investigate scene of the accident. Amid speculation about the cause of the crash, some suspect Greg of refusing to follow orders. The FBI notices that the CIA immediately collected cargo out of the wreckage and labeled it top secret. Diane is devastated when she hears the news, until she finds out that Greg is one of the few survivors. She is contacted by Scott Cody (

), who works for the

Air Line Pilots Association, International The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is the largest pilot union in the world, representing more than 79,000 pilots from 42 US and Canadian airlines. ALPA was founded on 27 July 1931 and is a member of the AFL-CIO and the Canadian ...

union. He tells her that Greg is the prime suspect in the crash investigation and collects information from her, finding out that Greg was on medication. Stirred up by news reporter Spense Zolman ( Jim Metzler), who senses a good story, the investigators find there was no bomb on board, and all the evidence points to Greg. Cody finds out that the CIA was spying on the aircraft with on-board surveillance equipment, interfering with the aircraft's radar. Diane asks if that was the reason why Greg crashed, but Cody explains that it is more complicated. Meanwhile, Greg dies from his injuries. Diane makes an official statement in which she claims her husband was not responsible, but she is not considered a reliable source, as she could lose pension and other benefits. Diane refuses to accept that her husband will be blamed for the crash and does everything to get the entire truth revealed. With the help of a few experts, she is able to prove that there was a fire in the cargo hold of the aircraft, the fire starting by spontaneous combustion of a piece of cargo, this in turn caused the crash.

Cast

as Diane Halstead *

as Scott Cody *

Frederick Coffin Frederick D. Coffin (January 16, 1943 – July 31, 2003) was an American film actor, singer, songwriter, and musician. Early life Coffin was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1943 to actress Winifred Deforest Coffin and writer Dean Coffin, and was one ...

as Wes Goddard * Peter Jurasik as Bob Stanton * Jim Metzler as Spence Zolman *

Jeff McCarthy Jeffrey Charles McCarthy (born October 16, 1954) is an American actor and director. Early life McCarthy was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Santa Maria, California, Santa Maria near the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, ...

as Chet Harmon * Moira Walley as Pamela Hayes * Doug Sheehan as Gregory "Greg" Halstead * Ray Blunk as Switzer *

Zachery Ty Bryan Zachery Tyler Bryan (born October 9, 1981) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for his role as Brad Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement''. He also appeared in the films '' First Kid'' and '' The Fast and the Furiou ...

as Child (uncredited) * Paula Preston as Dixie * Gregory Feith as Co-Pilot Pasco (credited as Greg Feith) * Jamie Horton as Agent Bryce * Sheila Ivy Traister as Georgia Kimm * Stephen West as Nickerson * John Rayburn as Sen. Charleston * Michael K. Osborn as Dr. Larwin * Pat Mahoney as Chadwick * Liz Jury as Emma * Mike Leopard as Lt. Owens * Linda Otto as Harriet * Dutch Shindler as Keeler * Joe Horváth as Booth * Ron Pinkard as Hodges

Production

With the working titles, ''Aftermath: The Mystery of Flight 1501'' and ''The Mysterious Crash of Flight 1501'', the television film was mainly a studio-made affair with stock aerial footage.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

began on July 17, 1990 and was finished by August that year. The aircraft depicted in ''Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501'' is the ubiquitous

DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell A ...

or its look-alike twin

McDonnell Douglas MD-80 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

. The aircraft is flown by the fictional ConWest Airlines, flight 1501, on the Baltimore–Kansas City–San Francisco route.

Historical context

In 1996, six years after the release of ''Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501'',

ValuJet Flight 592 ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 was a regularly scheduled flight from Miami International Airport, Miami to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta in the United States. On May 11, 1996, the ValuJet Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC ...

, a DC-9, as depicted in the film, crashed after

dangerous goods Dangerous goods are substances that are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment during transport. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabically abbreviate ...

illegally loaded into the cargo compartment caused an in-flight fire which brought down the aircraft. The accident was a startlingly similar echo of the events in the film."NTSB Report AAR97-06."
''National Transportation Safety Board'', May 11, 1996. Retrieved: April 2, 2017.

Reception

In a later review of ''Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501'', Sergio Ortego in ''airodyssey.net'', commented: "I like the depiction of the media and their misinterpretation of air disasters. Cheryl Ladd and the other actors are convincing, but the special effects and footage used aren’t." Andy Webb, in his review for ''The Movie Scene'' pinpointed the problems with the film: "What this all boils down to is as a whole movie 'Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501' doesn't work; it is too contrived and now seriously dated. But the various elements of the movie are interesting and it is a case that less would have made 'Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501' more."Webb, Andy

''themoviescene''. Retrieved: April 2, 2017.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Pearcy, Arthur. ''Douglas DC-9''. London: Voyageur Press, 1994. .

External links

* * {{TCMDb title, 464767, Crash: The Mystery of Flight 1501 1990 films 1990 television films 1990 drama films 1990s mystery films American aviation films Films about the Central Intelligence Agency Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation Films scored by Mark Snow Films about aviation accidents or incidents Drama films based on actual events Films directed by Philip Saville NBC original films 1990s American films American mystery television films