History Film / Flight2012

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Most viewers are understandably convinced that flying a passenger plane upside down to level out a nosedive is Hollywood impossibility. There's still a bit of ArtisticLicensePhysics at play, but it ''could'' work for the short amount of time it's in the film. Such a feat has never occurred in real life before, but the film does include some RealityEnsues consequences, like the oil pressure dropping due to the plane being inverted.

** While extremely dramatic, two errors that didn't appear all that necessary crop up. First, Whitaker narrates dramatically to Air Traffic Control when the aircraft was uncontrollable; real-life pilots know that communicating their issue to ATC just wastes valuable headspace, speech, and time that simply can't be spared when dealing with an extremely dangerous control malfunction; a pilot calls Mayday only when the situation has somewhat stabilized. Second, each engine gives a fire warning, and the First Officer correctly activates the fire handles on each engine (which cuts off all fuel to the engine, then sprays the engine down with fire retardant, i.e., shutting down the engine permanently so that it does not destroy the airframe) and yet, after deliberately shutting down each engine, the First Officer seems surprised when each engine spins down and loses power.

* TheBadGuyWins: While only hinted in the movie, the conclusion of the whole story is [[spoiler: the company responsible for the faulty plane getting away scot-free, because [[TheScapegoat they can shift all the blame on a drunk pilot]], rather than anything wrong with the plane]]. That despite the fact the plane had a structural failure that lead to the crash.

* TheScapegoat: Katerina becomes one for Whitaker's defenders, as a way of pinning the blame for the two used vodka bottles in the airplane's trash. Whitaker initially balks at scapegoating a dead woman, especially one he was both romantically involved with and who died while rescuing a child, but eventually agrees to go along with the plan. When asked under oath, he denies drinking the vodka bottles. [[spoiler: At first]].

A 2012 live-action film directed and co-produced by Creator/RobertZemeckis. ''Flight'' features an ensemble cast including Creator/DenzelWashington, Creator/DonCheadle, Melissa Leo, Creator/BruceGreenwood, Creator/KellyReilly, and Creator/JohnGoodman.

* ImprobablePilotingSkills / AcePilot: To drive the point, the airline had ''eleven'' other pilots attempt to save the plane as Whitaker did in simulations. ''All failed.''

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Whip confesses he was intoxicated during the flight and is sent to jail, but in doing so he is freed of his addictions and guilt, permitting him to reconcile with his friends and family]].

* AliminumChristmasTrees: Most viewers are understandably convinced that flying a passenger plane upside down to level out a nosedive is Hollywood impossibility. There's still a bit of ArtisticLicensePhysics at play, but it ''could'' work for the short amount of time it's in the film. Such a feat has never occurred in real life before, but the film does include some RealityEnsues consequences, like the oil pressure dropping due to the plane being inverted.

A 2012 live-action film directed and co-produced by Creator/RobertZemeckis. ''Flight'' features an ensemble cast including Creator/DenzelWashington, Creator/DonCheadle, Melissa Leo, Creator/BruceGreenwood, Kelly Reilly, and Creator/JohnGoodman.

The story revolves around Captain William "Whip" Whitaker (DenzelWashington), a pilot who pulls off a miraculous crash landing after his commercial airliner plunges out of the sky due to a catastrophic mechanical failure. Hailed as a hero in the press, trouble arises behind the scenes due to Whitaker being both drunk and high on cocaine during the flight, facts which could result in serious prison time and even manslaughter charges. Further complicating matters for both him and his legal defenders is Whitaker's losing battle with alcoholism.

* DrugsAreBad

* HeroesWantRedHeads

* OscarBait

* TropaholicsAnonymous

* ShellShockedSilence: When the plane crashes, Whip hits his head on his control yoke, knocking him out cold. From that moment until he's loaded into the ambulance, the sound of ringing ears can be heard and all other sounds are muffled or distorted to varying degrees.

* GoingColdTurkey: Subverted.
* GoryDiscretionShot: After the crash, [[spoiler: Katerina's]] body is only visible below the neck, with the splash of blood hinting at what happened to the head.

* HookersAndBlow: Whip's general behavior before the accident. Note, Katerina isn't a prostitute, but the promiscuity is still there.

* ProductPlacement: Subverted, while Whitaker drinks many brands of alcoholic beverage, each only appears for single scenes and none were paid placements (for obvious reasons). [[http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20121105/BIZ/711059883 At least one complained.]]

* DrunkenMaster: Deconstructed. Whip can pull off a maneuver to save his plane that no other pilot can do ''while drunk and high'', but his personal life suffers severely and [[spoiler:once the authorities find out about his addiction, his flight career is over]].

* FunctionalAddict: Whitaker and [[spoiler: Katerina]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:When the plane inverts, Katerina unbuckles her restraints to help lift a child who fell down to the ceiling-turned-floor back into his seat. Unfortunately, she's unable to secure herself again before the crash [[{{Squick}} and is pile-drivered into the cabin floor on impact]]]].

* ImpairmentShot: Whip when taken out of the plane and again when waking up in the hospital.

* NailedToTheWagon: The night before the NTSB public hearing, his layer and union rep check Whitaker into a hotel room with a guard outside the door, and whose mini-bar has been stripped of alcohol. [[spoiler: Too bad that the interior door to the next room over was accidentally left unlocked]].

* NeverMyFault: Whip insists through the majority of the movie, that it's all the defected plane's fault for the crash and the death of some of the passengers and crew.

* OnlySaneMan: It's almost comical watching Whip remain utterly calm and collected whilst everyone else freaks out when the plane goes into a nosedive toward a seemingly certain crash landing.
** TruthInTelevision as many pilots have failed to save the plane/passengers because they panicked. As a result, they couldn't think clearly enough to perform the tasks needed to save the plane. However, pilots that have remained calm and collected throughout the situation were able to act rationally, and save most (if not all) of the passengers. The plane however is usually written off for... obvious reasons.

* ShownTheirWork: The physics of Whitaker's fatal flight are fairly well done, though some ArtisticLicensePhysics was taken to amp up the drama. With his elevators jammed nose-down, vertical flight controls broken, he did pretty much the ONLY thing that would have had a [[StealthPun prayer]] of keeping that plane in the air a short time - ''inverting the plane'', turning nose-down into nose-up. The stuff that should fail in an inverted jumbo jet - like the gravity-assisted oil pumps - indeed fail, causing the engines to overheat and catch fire. Why did the plane not explode on impact? He dumped almost all the fuel and ran the remaining fuel out the burning engines.

* VomitIndiscretionShot: A flight attendant quite understandably vomits during the crash sequence.

A 2012 live-action film directed and co-produced by Creator/RobertZemeckis. ''Flight'' features an ensemble cast including DenzelWashington, Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly, and John Goodman.

* BeliefMakesYouStupid: Averted. Although the more intense Christian believers (like Evans and his wife) may come across as eccentric at first, they all show genuine courage in the face of life-changing disaster.