Mercy Mission: the Rescue of Flight 771

Mercy Mission: the Rescue of Flight 771 (also known as Flight From Hell) is a 1993 TV movie based on the real-life rescue of the pilot of a Cessna 188. It stars Scott Bakula as Jay Perkins, the pilot of Cessna 30771, and Robert Loggia as Gordon Vette, the ANZ flight 308 pilot who rescues him. Although the film premiered on American television, it was filmed on location in Australia.[1]

Mercy Mission: the Rescue of Flight 771
Also known asFlight From Hell
GenreDrama
Based onCessna 188 Pacific rescue
Written by
  • George Rubino
  • Robert Benedetti
Directed byRoger Young
Starring
Music byPatrick Williams
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
Production
Executive producer(s)Robert Benedetti
Producer(s)
  • Verna Harvey
  • Derek Kavanagh
  • Peter Stelzer
CinematographyDonald M. Morgan
Editor(s)Benjamin A. Weissman
Running time89 minutes
Production company(s)
  • Anasazi Productions
  • RHI Entertainment
Distributor
  • NBC (USA, 1993)
Release
Original networkNBC
Picture formatColor
Audio formatStereo
Original release
  • December 13, 1993 (1993-12-13)

Plot

As the film begins, close to Christmas, Jay Perkins (Bakula) and his fellow pilot Frank (Fletcher) have been hired to fly crop dusters by a local farmer, but their proclivity for dangerous aerial stunts gets them fired. This leaves Jay without income to support his wife Ellen (Rigg), who is pregnant. He and Frank are soon offered a job flying Cessna 188 crop dusters to Sydney via Honolulu, Pago Pago, and Norfolk Island for a handsome fee. Though Jay has reservations about the safety of the assignment, he and Frank ultimately accept. This upsets Ellen, who tells him that the money isn't worth the risk. Nevertheless, Jay and Frank take off the next morning, weighed down by all of the extra fuel necessary for the long flight. Both pilots have been provided with an Automatic Direction Finder (ADF) to help guide them to their destination.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Air New Zealand senior pilot Gordon Vette (Loggia) is looking forward to his impending retirement after more than 33 years of service. At present, however, Gordon is about to serve as the captain of ANZ Flight 308: a brief two-hour trip from Fiji's Nadi International Airport to Auckland Airport in New Zealand.

Jay and Frank make through Honolulu without incident, but Frank crashes into the water upon takeoff from Pago Pago. Frank escapes unharmed, but his plane is destroyed. Jay offers to turn back, but Frank, reminding him of the big payoff, convinces him to keep going. After he has been flying for nearly 14 hours, Jay attempts to reach Norfolk Island by radio but is unsuccessful. With growing trepidation, he begins to suspect that his ADF may have led him astray. Jay takes it apart and finds that is it broken. Realizing that he has no idea where he is, Jay radios air traffic control in Auckland for help.

A search and rescue mission is sent out to find Jay, but their progress is hindered by a storm. Out of options, air traffic control tells Flight 308 that they are the only flight in the area that might be able to help. Gordon radios Jay and discovers that he is in danger of running out of fuel. Knowing that Jay is doomed without his help, Gordon manages to convince his passengers to let him change course and search for Jay.

Back at home in San Francisco, Ellen is distressed to learn that her husband is lost at sea. Off the coast of New Zealand, Gordon is having difficulty conducting search and rescue operations in a passenger jet. The captain is forced to get creative, attempting to locate Jay by triangulating his position from the range of his radio or by comparing their relative positions of the sun. Jay grows increasingly hopeless as each attempt fails, and he begins to consider ditching his plane in the ocean before its engine stops from fuel exhaustion. Jay knows, however, that if he lands in the water and Gordon cannot get to him soon enough, he will probably not survive. Thankfully, Gordon is finally able to locate him, and Jay returns home to his family.[2][3]

Cast and characters

Release

Domestic

The film premiered on December 13, 1993 on the American television channel NBC.[4][5]

Foreign

Mercy Mission was mildly successful internationally, as it was released in several countries after its original air date. The film was distributed in Japan by NHK, first airing on July 23, 1994.[4] Its Swedish premiere was on February 16, 1996, and its Hungarian premiere was on July 6, 2005.[5] A DVD version of the film was released in 2016 by EuroVideo in Germany.[5]

Reception

Mercy Mission received mixed reviews. Flixster users gave the film 25% rating.[6] One source of criticism was the film's budget; Sky Cinema called it "yet another plane disaster movie," noting that "the special effects let it down."[7] AirOdyssey.net also found fault with the movie, saying, "the special effects are a little amateurish and may even remind you of the movie Airport."[2] Variety, on the other hand, called Mercy Mission a "well-executed, exciting telefilm, drawing the maximum emotionality from what could have been a generic piece."[3] Variety saves especial praise for Loggia and Bakula's acting within the confines of their cockpits, noting that Loggia "performs with much vigor" and Bakula "looks as if he’s actually gone through this trauma [by the end]."[3] Even Sky complimented Loggia and Bakula, albeit cheekily, for their ability to "clench their jaws and narrow their eyes effectively."[7]

Accuracy
Further information: Cessna 188 Pacific rescue

Though Mercy Mission is based on the real-life search for a Cessna 188 in 1978, many details of the original event have been changed.

  • Jay's actually left Pago Pago on December 21, not on Christmas Day.[2]
  • The landing date is 24 December (due to crossing the International Date Line) instead of 22 December.
  • Instead of continuing directly on to Norfolk Island, Jay lands back on Pago Pago after Frank's crash.[2]
  • The Air New Zealand flight number was actually 103, not 308.[2]
  • The flight's first officer and flight engineer were named Arthur Dovey and Gordon Brooks, not Russ Mann and Warren Banks.[2] The second qualified navigator is the flight engineer instead of one of the passengers.
  • The plane Gordon Vette flew during the actual rescue was a DC-10-30. The plane used in the movie, a Boeing 767-200, was not in use until after he retired.[2]
  • Some Australian airlines, such as Ansett Australia and Australian Airlines, are depicted anachronistically.[2]
  • Jay's actual last name, Prochnow, was changed to Perkins.[2]
  • The oil rig does not appear. One of the passengers aboard the Air New Zealand's aircraft sights Jay's aircraft. Then, Jay follows the Air New Zealand's aircraft.
  • Some scenes in the movie's second half are absent from official accounts of the incident and have likely been inserted for additional drama.[2]
  • Jay lands in Auckland after the Air New Zealand aircraft. After the landing, Jay is invited by Gordon Vette to celebrate Christmas at home. In fact, Jay flew alone to Norfolk Island and landed there.

General references

"Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771." Hollywood.com

"Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)." BFI

"Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771." BBFC

"Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (Movie review)." AirOdyssey.net.

"Review: 'Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771.'" Variety.

Emergency!: Crisis in the Cockpit, Stanley Stewart, pg 1–25, ISBN 9780830634996.

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References
  1. "Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993 TV Movie) - Filming Locations". IMDb. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  2. Ortega, Sergio (March 1, 1999). "Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (Movie review)". AirOdyssey.net. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  3. Griffin, Dominic (December 12, 1993). "Review: 'Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771'". Variety. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  4. "Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993 TV Movie) - Company Credits". IMDb. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  5. "Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993 TV Movie) - Release Info". IMDb. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  6. "Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771 (1993)". Flixster. Fandango. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  7. "Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771". Sky Cinema. Sky UK. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
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