The 2012 movie “Flight” is the story of a remarkable captain who is able to steer a ‘broken plane’ to belly land in an open field, saving the lives of close to a hundred people.
Though two cabin crew, alongside four passengers, perished during the crash landing, the co-pilot and others in the aviation community believe that without captain Whip Whittaker, all the 102 passengers onboard would’ve died.
Despite such heroics, the pilot has his flaws. The captain of the flight is an encapsulation of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s maxim, “the line dividing good and bad cuts through the heart of every human being“, as the pilot is portrayed as an alcoholic and someone who gets high on cocaine.
Related
What Caused The Crash Of Alaska Airlines Flight 261?
The crash was determined to have been a maintenance accident.
In light of the captain’s extraordinary bravado and character flaws, one might wonder
if the movie is based on a true story
.
Perhaps the term ‘loosely based’ would be apt
The lead character (the pilot) of the 2012 movie Flight is Denzel Washington. Denzel plays the role of captain Whip Whittaker and prepared extensively for the role by practicing in a flight simulator. The movie was directed by Robert Zemeckis, an acclaimed director who directed the movie “Castaway”.
Though some events displayed in the movie were inspired by a real-life event, it would be difficult to say that the movie was “based on a true story”, posits Screen Rant:
“The movie was inspired by a real-life event involving a pilot actually inverting a commercial airplane in an attempt to stabilize and save the lives of its passengers. While the unique maneuver used in the movie as well as some of the circumstances surrounding the crash depicted in Flight were loosely based on the real-life event, the true story sadly did not have the same outcome as seen in Robert Zemeckis’ movie.”
Screen Rant’s phrase “loosely based on the real-life event” would be apt. Yahoo entertainment reported that the screenwriter of the movie, John Gatins, had drawn some elements in the movie from the crash of
Alaska Airlines Flight 261
in the year 2000.
The source also was quoted to say that “a few lines were written verbatim from the CVR transcript, specifically, the conversation that happened through the overhead speakers, between pilots in the cockpit and passengers.“
The movie was a critical and commercial success. Denzel Washington received a nomination as Best Actor, and John Gatins was nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 85th Academy Awards.
However, there are glaring differences between what happens in the movie and what unfolds in the real-life incident the movie is loosely based on.
Some comparisons between the movie and the actual flight
In the movie, the MD-80, piloted by Captain Whittaker, takes off and climbs through severe turbulence with some difficulty. He thanked the passengers for their patience and for keeping themselves calm during the time it took for the aircraft to get out of turbulence.
The MD-83 involved in Alaska Airlines Flight 261 functioned normally during takeoff and initial climb. When the aircraft was at an altitude of approximately 23,500 ft (7,160 m), the horizontal stabilizer did not respond to the commands of the (auto)pilot. The Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) quoted the probable cause of the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 as the following:
“a loss of airplane pitch control resulting from in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew assembly’s Acme nut threads. The thread failure was caused by excessive wear resulting from Alaska Airlines’ insufficient lubrication of the jackscrew assembly. While not specifically mentioned in the NTSB findings, the Acme nut grease fitting passage, which allows the grease to reach the jackscrew and Acme nut threads, was found plugged with dry residue.”
Photo: NTSB
The movie also portrays similar dysfunction in the aircraft. According to IMDB, inadequate maintenance was behind the crash of the MD-80 in the movie Flight:
“The root cause of the crash was found to be inadequate maintenance of the airplane’s stabilizer “jackscrew,” which caused its threads to wear down excessively and eventually jam the jackscrew. While the pilots were trying to reach Los Angeles for an emergency landing, the threads were ripped out, and the stabilizer moved to a position that forced the plane into its fatal dive.”
Comparing the (fate of the) pilots
After the aircraft (in the movie Flight) is stabilized following the initial about of turbulence, Captain Whittaker ingests alcohol. Following this, Captain Whittaker sleeps as he is piloting the flight, much to the surprise (and angst) of the First Officer, Ken Evans. Only after the sudden jolt from the aircraft diving towards the ground does Whittaker wake up.
According to the Pilot Lawyer, the blood alcohol content (BAC) of pilots needs to be under .04% if they are to take flight. But the BAC of Captain Whittaker is 0.24%.
This is in sharp contrast to the pilots of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, who were not suspected to have been intoxicated while flying.
During the investigation in the movie, Captain Whittaker admits to having been drunk and intoxicated while flying and is sentenced to prison for his negligence. The movie shows Whittaker’s attempts to grow out of his alcoholism.
The pilots of 
Alaska Airlines
Flight 261, on the other hand, were praised valiantly for their attempts to save the aircraft. Some of the recognition the pilots of the fateful flight received include the following: