SST: Death Flight

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SST Death Flight (aka SST: Disaster in the Sky) is a 1977 made-for-TV movie produced by ABC Circle Films. It featured an all-star cast and was directed by David Lowell Rich, who went on to direct The Concorde...Airport '79. The film capitalizes on the smorgasbord of 1970s aircraft disaster films, this time with an supersonic transport aircraft that is refused permission to land due to the threat of spreading a virulent strain of influenza.

The film premiered on February 25, 1977 on ABC and went into syndication. It was lampooned in 1989 by the characters of the KTMA broadcast version of Mystery Science Theater 3000. The film is noted for its formulaic plot and its poor production values. For instance, it depicted an American SST as the first of its kind, and used a scale model of what was basically a Concorde with Boeing 747 turbofan engines attached. Other shots were completed using a mock-up of a Boeing 2707, a prototype the company had created when Americans were still pursuing their own SST program.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Plot

It's the maiden flight of America's first supersonic transport. Regis Philbin is a TV announcer covering the festivities. The jet is piloted by Robert Reed. Serving on board is steward Billy Crystal. Among the passengers is Bert Convy who talks about his ex-girlfriend, Doug McClure trying to woo Tina Louise. Lorne Greene stars as an on ground engineer. Peter Graves, John DeLancie, and Robert Ito also star as passengers.

Unfortunately, "repairs" by a disgruntled employee annoyed with his boss (Burgess Meredith) cause a tank of hydraulic fluid to explode. This damages a deadly influenza shipment, and the plane is refused landing rights in Europe.