SOS Miami Airport: The Crash of Flight 401 – Film Review

Disaster movies often fall into two categories. Over the top action and more subdued documentarian. SOS Miami Airport: The Crash of Flight 401 has an unusual approach. Retelling the true story of the 1972 plane crash that killed 101 passengers and crew, the movie throws a lot of kitchen-sink drama in and around a documentarian approach to the disaster itself. As a result, you get a film that starts off incredibly overwrought and hammy but turns into a fascinating and gripping fight for survival and the truth.

The disasters faced

The plane crash itself, a light bulb failure, a collection of marriages on the rocks, alligators, poisonous snakes, general hysteria, drowning, electrical wires and remembering that people could smoke on planes in the 70s!

The story

SOS Miami Airport tells the true story of an unlikely set of events that caused Eastern Air Flight 401 to crash into the ground. William Shatner is Mr Tobias – crash investigator, helper and narrator for the movie. He provides a foreboding opening voice-over and drops crucial bits of information as the movie progresses. You see, a few planes had recently crashed and the crew were weary and nervous. Lesley and Veronica, two of the crew discuss this at length as Lesley is worried that should the worst happen, she’d freeze and be useless. Veronica calms her down but little did they know that roles would be flipped when the disaster itself occurred.

An assortment of other characters are introduced. Emily and Philip Mulwray are a couple in crisis and bitterly unhappy. They are on the plane to Miami for a holiday to save their marriage. Jerry Grant is busy looking at computerising inventory. Alvin Jessop wants to only have the seat next to the cockpit recorder. Evan and Ginny are having a hot romance but it appears that Ginny isn’t really on board with the whole thing, getting very drunk, very quickly. Camille on the other hand, has just found out she is pregnant and is boarding the flight to meet with the father of the baby. Then we have relatively newly-wed Cecilia and Mike who are on their way to visit Cecilia’s family for a traditional new year party (complete with a roast pig). A few other passengers include a mother and her two-month-old baby who is gagging for a cigarette and an elderly lady with a tiny terrier.

We learn about these characters very briefly before the plane crashes at the start of the film and then we head back to three days before the crash to see everyone’s story before they boarded the plane. What seems to be odd is that these stories are either woven from other survivor tales (with name changes) or totally lifted from another family and rearranged. It is really difficult to know exactly what is and isn’t true from the dramatic side of the movie so I won’t comment on it much.

Up front in the cockpit, Captain Dunn is busy trying to work out what has happened with his landing gear light. It isn’t working. As he and his officers try to work out if the landing gear is down or not, Captain Dunn starts to look at other bits of information around the cockpit. When getting out of his chair, he nudges the controls forward with enough force that the auto-pilot disengages and Flight 401 begins to descend very slowly over the unlit swamps of the Everglades. Whilst the crew were diagnosing the landing gear issue, air traffic control was dealing with a different plane with an emergency at the same time. Sadly, by the time the crew returned to flying the plane, they realised they were just hovering above the ground with a few seconds to spare and so the plane cartwheeled into the swampy ground and broke apart into a swamp of debris.

With the plane in pieces, burnt out and half submerged, it was a miracle anyone had survived at all but many had. As the rescue crews search for the plane, survivors have to fend for themselves. Some like Veronica and Jerry are so shocked at what has happened that they can’t function and are seemingly stuck. Others such as Ginny seem to think God has smitted them and beg for a second chance at life. Ginny then finds the two-month-old baby in the water and sees it as a sign for redemption. Emily and Philip have spent the entire movie at loggerheads but now Philip is trapped suspended in the air, paralysed and wrapped up in electrical cables. At least Emily can find her husband. Mike can’t find Cecelia at all as they were both jettisoned out of the plane.

Soon rescue arrives and we get to see the fates of most of the characters on screen. Not all survive and our narrator Tobias switches the focus from survival to investigation. The flight recorder is missing and with all the cockpit crew either killed or in critical condition, Tobias goes searching for answers. Managing to piece together the puzzle before it is too late, Tobias is able to use the information from the surviving crew, passengers and controllers to understand how the incident took place.

Why is it worth watching?

There are a few reasons why this film stands out. Firstly, the crash itself and the debris field is remarkably realistic. It is all done with practical effects and whilst there isn’t a crazy budget, it has been used to great effect. The survival elements are also very physical. The actors are all splashing around in the water, climbing over debris, crawling through the mud and it looks messy and dangerous. Yet the movie focuses more on how the survivors feel rather than their general peril. This might be because many died on impact and the survivors had little to do but cling to hope, but it makes the film seem more human.

On the flipside, the character introductions are so overwrought it is almost comedic. Almost every single female in this movie is on the verge of a breakdown. Perhaps it is because of the very tight 93 minute turnaround time but the women come across as unhinged at times. Watch as Camille (in her only pre-flight scene) scream cries at the father of her unborn baby then laughs and books the first flight she can to see him in the space of 15 seconds. Emily (Loraine Gary) channels Ava Gardner and Lee Grant so well, she could help them form a sisterhood. Meanwhile, all the men do is talk business and smoke cigars. I also enjoy some of the dated references. A doctor letting you use their phone? Nearly putting your baby in the smoking section of the plane? Taking a dog on as hand luggage? Ah, the 70s…

Lastly, unlike so many other disaster movies (aside from plane crash ones anyway), there is an element of mystery and problem solving. If you don’t know the story, the movie plays out a bit like a Murder She Wrote episode. You’ll see the accident at the start and have most of the information there but then Tobias weaves it back together in the closing minutes to tell you exactly what happened… as best we know anyway. Whilst there is a lot of ham in some areas, the movie tries to stay factual with the crash details. There is also an interesting undercurrent in the narrative around computerisation in the cockpit. You could argue that this crash was partly caused because the crew put too much trust in the autopilot whilst solving their landing gear issue. Computerisation is a theme across the movie and I get the sense that the writers were not fans.

The effects

The practical effects are great as they include all kinds of inventive shots to show the crash taking place. My main issue is that the DVD copy currently available (mine is German but comes with the original English soundtrack too) has a VHS quality to it. The movie is very dark and so not only is most of the movie shot at night, its tricky to make out all the details because of its VHS fuzz. That might make the effects look better but there was clearly a lot of stunt work that I feel I’m missing out on until a remastered version is produced. I also want to shout out the make-up department for the film. There are some very well done bruises and swollen eyes and the way some characters are soaked in mud and oil along with ripped clothes – it just looks chaotic. The set does too.

The characters

I’ve mentioned the crazy women but largely everyone comes across as fine in the heat of the moment. Not much happens in terms of character development outside of a few reconciliations or partings. That said, I do want to go to Cecelia’s brother Osario’s house for their new year party. It looks a blast. Elsewhere, the other strange friendship is between the air traffic controllers. There is a whole scene about how much sugar is in a coffee and it is one of the most cumbersome pieces of character building dialogue I’ve heard in ages. The two stick up for and look after each other across the ordeal and I’m sure it is not their coffee banter that has kept them good work buddies for 20 years.

Favourite quote

They always come in threes

Lesley speaking to vernonica about two other recent crashes before take off

Three memorable moments

• The freeze-frame finale telling you what happened with each of the survivors after the crash by showing their reactions during the crash impact. Haunting.
• Seeing someone move seats so they can have a smoke in the smoking section. This practice just astounds me.
• The excellent arguments Emily and Philip have – especially in front of Jerry who doesn’t quite know what to do.

The obligatory weird moment

Outside of Camille’s hysterical phone call, I think my main weird moment is that the movie seems to forget characters or leave them without a natural conclusion to their story. The movie also feels like it is missing 15 minutes from the ending. The final 12 minutes attempts to wrap up the fates of a few characters and the investigation part and it feels rushed rather than tight. This is a movie where another 15 minutes would have been welcome.

I’d also like to cover something that this film doesn’t. Ghost sightings of passengers and crew who died on Flight 401 were reported to take place and became quite widespread. Apparently, this was meant to coincide with Eastern Air salvaging parts of the plane and retrofitting them onto their fleet. The whole thing became quite controversial and there is a TV movie called The Ghost of Flight 401 about it. I haven’t seen it yet but this, along with books on the subject are out there for those who want to know more.

The drinking game

William Shatner looks like he wants to punch someone in almost every scene he is in. Take a drink should you need to.

Conclusion

A quite unique melodramamentary of a real life accident. You’ll learn a lot about the crash itself and be intrigued and enthralled with the whole ordeal. Whilst this is a largely very respectful tribute to the 101 who were killed, just know that this isn’t quite as documentary-level precise about the people themselves as many other films are.

Rating: 3/5 – Good

If you liked SOS Miami Airport: The Crash of Flight 401 then you may also like…

• Erebus: Operation Overdue – a poignant documentary about the fatal crash.
• Miracle Landing – a more positive “against all odds” real life flight disaster.
• Sully: Miracle on the Hudson – a great deep dive into post-crash investigation work