Top 250 Movies Like Mayday
A list of the best movies similar to Mayday. If you liked Mayday then you may also like: Zero Hour!, United 93, The War Lover, Non-Stop, Race for the Yankee Zephyr and many more great movies featured on this list.
Major real-life air disasters are depicted in this series. Each episode features a detailed dramatized reconstruction of the incident based on cockpit voice recorders and air traffic control transcripts, as well as eyewitnesses recounts and interviews with aviation experts.
The War Lover
Buzz Rickson is a dare-devil World War II bomber pilot with a death wish. Failing at everything not involving flying, Rickson lives for the most dangerous missions. His crew lives with this aspect of his personality only because they know he always brings them back alive.
Non-Stop
Bill Marks is a burned-out veteran of the Air Marshals service. He views the assignment not as a life-saving duty, but as a desk job in the sky. However, today's flight will be no routine trip. Shortly into the transatlantic journey from New York to London, he receives a series of mysterious text messages ordering him to have the government transfer $150 million into a secret account, or a passenger will die every 20 minutes.
Race for the Yankee Zephyr
In a lake high in the mountains of New Zealand hunter Gibbie Gibson discovers a plane wreck from WW2. When he tells it around, a gang of crooks follows and threatens him and his daughter, because they know there are 50 million dollars in the wreck. Helicopter pilot Barney helps Gibbie against them, risking his life thereby.
Random Hearts
After losing their spouses in a plane crash, an internal affairs cop and a congresswoman find each other's keys in each other's loved ones' possessions and discover that the two were having an affair.
Aftermath
A fatal plane crash changes the lives of Roman and Jake forever. Roman loses his wife and daughter in the accident, while Jake loses his mind—as he happens to be the air traffic controller who failed to avert the nightmare. Rage and revenge engulfs Roman and Jake finds himself swamped with guilt and regret.
Air Force One
Russian terrorists conspire to hijack the aircraft with the president and his family on board. The commander in chief finds himself facing an impossible predicament: give in to the terrorists and sacrifice his family, or risk everything to uphold his principles - and the integrity of the nation.
Airport 1975
When an in-flight collision incapacitates the pilots of an airplane bound for Los Angeles, stewardess Nancy Pryor is forced to take over the controls. From the ground, her boyfriend Alan Murdock, a retired test pilot, tries to talk her through piloting and landing the 747 aircraft. Worse yet, the anxious passengers — among which are a noisy nun and a cranky man — are aggravating the already tense atmosphere.
Arctic
A man stranded in the Arctic is finally about to receive his long awaited rescue. However, after a tragic accident, his opportunity is lost and he must then decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his camp or embark on a deadly trek through the unknown for potential salvation.
Aurora: Operation Intercept
There have been two mysterious plane crashes in only 48 hours. The aircraft suddenly lose control and crash, killing everyone aboard. A woman of Russian descent, Francesca Zaborszin, the daughter of a slain Federal investigator, claims responsibility for the crashes. She believes her father was killed by the FBI as part of a cover-up operation and wishes to avenge his death by threatening to down more aircraft using the same electromagnetic pulse method. She also intends to crash a stolen military jet into the White House. There's no time to ground the planes: just enough time to try to stop her.
Bat★21
Lt. Col. Iceal "Ham" Hambleton is a weapons countermeasures expert and when his aircraft is shot over enemy territory the Air Force very much wants to get him back. Hambleton knows the area he's in is going to be carpet-bombed but a temporary shortage of helicopters causes a delay. Working with an Air Force reconnaissance pilot, Capt. Bartholomew Clark, he maps out an escape route.
Battle of Britain
In 1940, the Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle against the might of the Luftwaffe for control of the skies over Britain, thus preventing the Nazi invasion of Britain.
Biggles
Unassuming catering salesmen Jim Ferguson falls through a time hole to 1917 where he saves the life of dashing Royal Flying Corps pilot James "Biggles" Bigglesworth after his photo recon mission is shot down. Before he can work out what has happened, Jim is zapped back to the 1980s......
The Blue Max
A young pilot in the German air force of 1918, disliked as lower-class and unchivalrous, tries ambitiously to earn the medal offered for 20 kills.
Cliffhanger
A year after losing his friend in a tragic 4,000-foot fall, former ranger Gabe Walker and his partner, Hal, are called to return to the same peak to rescue a group of stranded climbers, only to learn the climbers are actually thieving hijackers who are looking for boxes full of money.
The Concorde... Airport '79
Aviation disaster-prone Joe Patroni must contend with nuclear missiles, the French Air Force and the threat of the plane splitting in two over the Alps.
Sully
On 15 January 2009, the world witnessed the 'Miracle on the Hudson' when Captain 'Sully' Sullenberger glided his disabled plane onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 souls aboard. However, even as Sully was being heralded by the public and the media for his unprecedented feat of aviation skill, an investigation was unfolding that threatened to destroy his reputation and career.
Die Hard 2
Off-duty cop John McClane is gripped with a feeling of déjà vu when, on a snowy Christmas Eve in the nation’s capital, terrorists seize a major international airport, holding thousands of holiday travelers hostage. Renegade military commandos led by a murderous rogue officer plot to rescue a drug lord from justice and are prepared for every contingency except one: McClane’s smart-mouthed heroics.
The Mountain Between Us
Stranded on a mountain after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must work together to endure the extreme elements of the remote, snow-covered terrain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across hundreds of miles of wilderness, pushing each other to survive and discovering their inner strength.
Flight of the Phoenix
When an oil rig in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia proves unproductive, an aircraft crew are sent to shut the operation down and fly them out. On the flight out over the desert on the way to Beijing, Capt. Frank Towns and co-pilot A.J. are unable to keep their cargo plane, a C-119 Flying Boxcar, in the air when a violent sandstorm strikes. Crash-landing in a remote uncharted part of the desert, the two pilots and their passengers -- a crew of oil workers and a drifter -- must work together to survive by rebuilding the aircraft. Soon, low supplies and a band of merciless smugglers add even greater urgency to their task.
The Flight of the Phoenix
A cargo aircraft crashes in a sandstorm in the Sahara with less than a dozen men on board. One of the passengers is an airplane designer who comes up with the idea of ripping off the undamaged wing and using it as the basis for a replacement aircraft they will build to escape before their food and water run out.
7 Days in Entebbe
In 1976, four hijackers take over an Air France airplane en route from Tel Aviv to Paris and force it to land in Entebbe, Uganda. With 248 passengers on board, one of the most daring rescue missions ever is set in motion.
Flight World War II
International Flight 42 is on course, when all of a sudden a massive and weird storm crops up around the plane. This sends the plane back in time to the year 1940- smack dab in the middle of WWII! Now, the crew and passengers must not only find a way back to their time, but fight off the Axis powers.
Passenger 57
An infamous terrorist has evaded capture for a long time by being extremely clever and ruthless. Things get interesting when he hijacks a plane carrying famous security expert John Cutter, who isn't about to stand for this sort of thing.
Destination: Infestation
While on a flight home from Colombia, the plane that Dr. Carrie Ross and her daughter are on is attacked by bullet ants whose sting is the most painful and deadliest on the planet. Joining forces with air marshal Ethan Hart, Dr. Ross, an entomologist, tries desperately to save the flight from disaster. In the end, their struggle brings them closer together and offers the couple hope for the future.
Executive Decision
Terrorists hijack a 747 inbound to Washington D.C., demanding the release of their imprisoned leader. Intelligence expert David Grant (Kurt Russell) suspects another reason and he is soon the reluctant member of a special assault team that is assigned to intercept the plane and hijackers.
Flight 93
Flight 93 is a 2006 made-for-TV film, directed by Peter Markle, which chronicles the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93 during the September 11 attacks. It premiered January 30, 2006 on the A&E Network and was re-broadcast several times throughout 2006. The film focused heavily on eight passengers, namely Todd Beamer, Mark Bingham, Tom Burnett, Jeremy Glick, Lauren Grandcolas, Donald Greene, Nicole Miller, and Honor Elizabeth Wainio. It features small appearances from many other passengers, namely Donald Peterson and his wife, Jean, and also from flight attendant Sandra Bradshaw.
Flight of the Living Dead
On a flight from Los Angeles to Paris, a mad scientist on the run from the CIA is transporting a coffin containing the body of a colleague infected with a genetically modified virus. While the 747 crosses a violent thunderstorm, the instability of the aircraft allows the corpse to get out of its container.
Lost Horizon
While escaping war-torn China, a group of Europeans crash in the Himalayas, where they are rescued and taken to the mysterious Valley of the Blue Moon, Shangri-La.
Sands of the Kalahari
A diverse group of individuals struggle to survive in the Kalahari desert after their passenger plane crashes.
Sole Survivor
In 1960, the ruins of an American bomber were found in the Libyan desert, but the remains of the crew were never located. In Guerdon Trueblood's teleplay, the ghosts of a bomber crew hang around their derelict plane, awaiting the day that their bones will be recovered and given a decent burial. The sole survivor, navigator Russell Hamner, has in the intervening 25 years become a General. He joins an investigation team that has come across the wreckage, while the ghosts, headed by Major Devlin, plot to expose Hamner as a coward who deserted his post and left his crew mates to die.
Sole Survivor
After inexplicably surving a plane crash, TV station worker Denise tries to get on with her life. After she learns that she was actually supposed to die in the crash, the unseen specter of death starts sending its minions, people that have recently died, to collect her.
Sole Survivor
In the history of aviation, there have been only 14 of them: sole survivors of a commercial aviation disaster. Most have never spoken publicly about the loss, the guilt, the immense pressure of feeling "spared." Who, after all, could ever truly understand? The answer is only each other. Sole Survivor brings four of them together (George Lamson, Cecilia Cichan, Bahia Bakari and Jim Polehinke) to share their very complex, personal stories for the first time. They revisit the most harrowing moments of their lives in an effort to heal and overcome their most perplexing questions.
The Sound Barrier
Fictionalized story of British aerospace engineers solving the problem of supersonic flight.
Turbulence
On a flight transporting dangerous convicts, murderer Ryan Weaver manages to break free and cause complete chaos throughout the plane. As various people on board fall victim to Weaver, it is ultimately down to flight attendant Teri Halloran to keep the aircraft from crashing, with on-ground support from an air traffic controller. While Halloran struggles to pilot the plane, Weaver continues to terrorize the surviving members of the crew.
Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal
Rock superstar Slade Craven has decided to hang up his rock & roll shoes and has planned something very special for his final show -- instead of a typical concert in some sports arena, he'll play a set aboard a 747 jumbo jet, flying from Los Angeles to Toronto, with the gig broadcast live to millions of fans over the Internet. But what Craven didn't count on is the presence of a deranged fan with a gun who attempts to hijack the plane, throwing the show into chaos and putting the lives of everyone aboard the jet at risk.
The Crowded Sky
When Navy pilot Dale Heath takes off, he doesn't expect his navigational equipment to fail and must adapt when it goes out along with his radio. Heading straight for a commercial jet piloted by Dick Barnett, whose plane is full of passengers, Heath can't tell which way to turn in order to avoid a catastrophe.
Murder on Flight 502
On a flight to London, a note is found stating that there will be murders taking place on the airliner before it lands.
True Identity
In order to escape from the mob, an African-American man must disguise himself as a white man.
Fate Is the Hunter
A man refuses to believe that pilot error caused a fatal crash, and persists in looking for another reason. Airliner crashes near Los Angeles due to unusual string of coincidences. Stewardess, who is sole survivor, joins airline executives in discovering the causes of the crash.
The Tarnished Angels
In the 1930s, once-great World War I pilot Roger Shumann performs as a daredevil barnstorming pilot at aerial stunt shows while his wife, LaVerne, works as a parachutist. When newspaper reporter Burke Devlin arrives to do a story on the Shumanns’ act, he quickly falls in love with the beautiful--and neglected--LaVerne.
Final Destination
After a teenager has a terrifying vision of him and his friends dying in a plane crash, he prevents the accident only to have Death hunt them down, one by one.
Cyclone
An airplane goes down in the ocean during a storm and a few survivors find refuge on a small tour boat. Swept out to sea, these people slowly starve to death in the hot sun with barely any food or clean water. With no place to turn, the boat survivors resort to cannibalism to stay alive...that is ..until the rescue planes come to pick them up and the man eating sharks decide its time to eat as well.
Hot Ticket
Two beautiful hostages find themselves pitted against cold-blooded killers intent on escaping with a million dollars in 'laundered' currency. Stranded in an alpine wilderness, the hunters and the hunted play an action packed cat and mouse game with the money and their lives hanging in the balance
Final Approach
Final Approach deals with the mental condition of Amnesia when a stealth test pilot, Col. Jason Halsey, is involved in an air disaster. A psychiatrist Dr. Dio Gottlieb attempts to help Halsey to recover his memory, but his motives seem strained. Is Gottlieb giving professional help or is he a counter-intelligence agent sent to debrief Halsey?
Falcon Down
U.S. Air force officer Hank Thomas attempts to expose a military cover-up after a civiian airliner crashes.
Collision Course
Kate Parks has spent the past year on tour promoting her book, an in-depth look at the attempted cover up of her husband's death in a plane crash. Now all she wants is to return home to her daughter, 15-year-old Samantha. But when a powerful solar flare strikes her flight home, killing the pilot, knocking out the co-pilot and frying all the electronic systems on the plane, it looks like she may not get there. As panic sets in among the passengers, Kate works with flight attendant Jake to manage the growing chaos and tension on the plane as she tries to keep 30,000 tons of steel hurtling through the air at 500 miles per hour. Flying blind, Kate tries to find a way to communicate with air traffic control - one way or another, this plane is coming down. With the passengers' lives on the line, Kate will have to find a way to land safely... or never see her daughter again.
Ground Control
An air-traffic controller quits after a plane crash but, years later, goes to help an airport that is in the path of a terrible storm.
Time Burst: The Final Alliance
Several different factions compete in the search for ancient Japanese tablets that have the secret of immortality.
Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land
Starflight One, a commercial aircraft that can whisk passengers around the globe in a matter of hours, embarks on its maiden voyage. The trip goes horribly awry, however, when the aircraft is forced out of the atmosphere and into outer space. As it is too dangerous to attempt reentry, Captain Cody Briggs, his passengers and his crew brave declining levels of oxygen while NASA scientists scramble to launch a rescue mission in a race against time.
Air Panic
FAA system analyzer named Neil McCabe is the only person who seems to have this different hunch towards a group of international terrorists after a horrific plane incident occured. He thinks that an evil genius computer hacker sets out and manipulate the computer electronical system which linked to several airplanes to cause destruction and tragedy. In order to prevent the mishap, McCabe and his teammate, Rudy, finds out about the machine used by the criminals which leads them to a psychotic thrilling fight between the terrorist.
Terror in the Sky
On a transcontinental flight, the flight crew suffer from food poisoning and become incapacitated. Now it's up to one of the passengers to safely land the plane.
Miraculous Journey
The passengers and crew of an airplane are stranded in an unfamiliar jungle. Unknown to most of the survivors is a criminal among them who caused the crash.
Flight 666
Passengers and crew on a flight are attacked by unseen forces that threaten all aboard.
Horizon Line
A couple flying on a small plane to attend a tropical island wedding must fight for their lives after their pilot suffers a heart attack.
Frenzy
A group of friends run a popular travel vlog that helps fund their adventures. The leader of the group brings along her younger sister for the next scuba diving trip to an isolated cove. But when their plane crashes, the two sisters must use their strength, resourcefulness and immense courage to survive a pack of great white sharks.
Hijacked: Flight 285
A convicted murderer is escorted by marshals on a regular flight from Phoenix to Dallas. Shortly after takeoff, two of his aides, traveling as ordinary passengers, take control and free him. He demands $20 million in bonds upon landing. And a sick passenger, bad weather or mechanical problems won't stop him.
The Carrier
England has been overrun by a pandemic with no apparent cure. As the infection continues to spread, safety - for a lucky few - looms in the form of a damaged 747 set to seek solace abroad. It's only once the plane is airborne that the survivors discover the infection made it onto the flight with them.
Turbulent Skies
When a new airplane that's equipped with a new computer that can fly the plane on its own, is about to have its first flight. But the son of the owner decides to upload more software, he doesn't bother to check if there are any viruses with it. And he also invites some potential investors to try it. So the plane appears to be working well but suddenly it veers off course and it can't be shut down. When the military learns of this and fears what if something happens if it's over a populated area; decides to shoot it down along with everyone on board. The man who built the computer whose wife is among the passengers thinks if he can get on board he might be able to shut it down and regain control of the plane. So the military using a new plane gets him on board. But what he didn't know is that both pilots are incapacitated so there's no one who can fly the plane.
Airliner Sky Battle
Russian operatives hijack a commercial American jet, planning to crash it into a nuclear power plant near Washington, D.C. resulting in fallout that will devastate the Eastern seaboard. With little time for Air Force fighters to shoot it down, the passengers and crew aboard the aircraft must rely on their own military and civilian training to stop the terrorists before it's too late.
Lost Flight
The captain of a downed airliner must help his crew and passengers survive on a deserted jungle island in the midst of a power struggle - an adult version of "Lord of the Flies."
Air Marshal
A commercial jet plane has been hijacked by a group of terrorists who don't realize that a U.S. Air Marshal, Brett Prescott (Dean Cochran), is among the passengers. The fate of dozens of people lies in the hands of Prescott, who must forge a one-man war against the hijackers destructive plans.
Valley of Mystery
A Meridian Airlines flight from Miami to Caracas crashes in the Venezuelan jungle, stranding 130 passengers and crew in hostile surroundings.
Captured Alive
Charter pilot Nick Baskin takes 5 strangers on a flight that is shot down. Taken by hillbillies in West Virginia, they are used to help transport toxic waste.
Wings of Hope
Werner Herzog returns to the South American jungle with Juliane Koepcke, the German woman who was the sole survivor of a plane crash there in 1971. They find the remains of the plane and recreate her journey out of the jungle.
SST: Death Flight
On its maiden flight, the crew of America's first supersonic transport learns that it may not be able to land, due to an act of sabotage and a deadly flu onboard.
Miracles Still Happen
A seventeen-year-old girl is the sole survivor of a plane crash in the Amazon.
Seven in Darkness
A plane carrying seven blind people to a convention for the blind in Seattle crashes in the mountains due to severe weather. Only the blind survive the crash and they must make their way back through the wilderness to civilization.
The Doomsday Flight
A bomb on board an airliner has an altitude-sensitive trigger. Unless a ransom is paid, it will explode when the plane descends to land.
102 Minutes That Changed America
The morning of September 11, 2001 is shown through multiple video cameras in and around New York City, from the moment the first WTC tower is hit until after both towers collapse.
Heroes of the Sky: The Mighty Eighth Air Force
Experience the story of the airmen that seismically shifted the Allies fortunes during World War II, known as the Mighty Eighth Airforce. Featuring never before seen archival footage, ride in the cockpits of the planes that destroyed Hitler's menacing Airforce; The Luftwaffe. They will fly dangerous missions, announcing their arrival into Germany with thousands of white vapor trails and dogfight with Nazi pilots, dropping bombs on the Reich. This is the Real True Story of the Mighty Eighth.
The Flight That Fought Back
It took the terrorists on Flight 93 two years to plan their attack. It took the 40 strangers aboard 30 minutes to defeat it. On September 11, 2001, passengers aboard United Flight 93 – one of four planes hijacked by terrorists that day and the only one to be diverted from its intended target – faced the unthinkable and inspired a nation. This is the story of their courage as told through unparalleled access to actual voice recordings, the personal accounts of family and friends, and extensive research into the events on board. Follow the account of their "first strike back at terrorism" and learn how these complete strangers – united by adversity – came together to thwart the terrorists' plans.
Tenerife
March 27, 1977. At 2:00 in the afternoon, a thick fog rolled into the usually quiet Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. On the runway sat two fully loaded jumbo airliners. An explosion at a nearby airport had redirected air traffic to the undermanned airfield at Tenerife. Within three hours 583 people would be dead. This film reconstructs the moments leading up to the tragedy.
Flight 7500
Flight 7500 departs Los Angeles International Airport bound for Tokyo. As the overnight flight makes its way over the Pacific Ocean during its ten-hour course, the passengers encounter what appears to be a supernatural force in the cabin.
The Horror at 37,000 Feet
A commercial-jet captain (Chuck Connors) has ghosts on board from stones of an English abbey being shipped overseas.
The Ghost of Flight 401
An aircraft crashes in the Florida Everglades, killing 103 passengers. After the wreckage is removed, salvageable parts from the plane are used to repair other aircraft. Soon passengers and crew on those aircraft report seeing what they believe to be the ghost of the wrecked airplane's flight engineer.
Freefall: Flight 174
True story of a brand-new Canadian airliner running out of fuel in-flight and forced to glide to the nearest airfield.
Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac
Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac is a true story based on the crash of Air Florida flight 90 on January 13, 1982 in Washington D.C. This movie follows the main players throughout the day, with a lot of care taken to re-create what actually went wrong, who died, and who survived. There is a lot of actual footage from the day, as well as accurate representations of aircraft type and airline.
The Night My Number Came Up
British Air Marshal Hardie is attending a party in Hong Kong when he hears of a dream, told by a pilot, in which Hardie's flight to Tokyo on a small Dakota propeller plane crashes on a Japanese beach. Hardie dismisses the dream as pure fantasy, but while he is flying to Tokyo the next day, circumstances start changing to align with the pilot's vivid vision, and it looks like the dream disaster may become a reality.
Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771
Lost somewhere over the Pacific in a single-engine Cessna with low fuel, a pilot (Scott Bakula) awaits rescue.
International Airport
Manager of a large metropolitan airport tries to deal with the stress of his job, and the various characters that work for him.
Fire and Rain
This movie is based on the actual events on the tragic day of August 2nd, 1985. Delta Airlines flight 191 en route to Los Angeles Via Dallas Ft Worth took off from Ft Lauderdale, Fl. When the plane was landing in Ft Worth wind-shear from a strong thunderstorm caused the plane to crash.
Blackout Effect
There has been a mid-air collision involving a passenger jet and a cargo flight, killing everyone aboard the two planes. The NTSB investigator in charge, whose girlfriend died in the crash, is puzzled. On one side, the air traffic controller claims he lost radar contact with the cargo plane shortly before impact, when his screen "blacked out." On the other side, everyone else, including the controller's bosses and the media, put the blame on human error. The truth is soon to be uncovered, as the aging air traffic control facilities are on the verge of failing right in the middle of the busy Thanksgiving season.
Say Goodbye, Maggie Cole
Maggie Cole is a research scientist who, after the sudden death of her husband, takes a position as an on-call doctor in an inner-city clinic. There, she must fight a battle on two fronts: against the medical conditions endangering her patients and against sexism toward a female doctor.
Brace for Impact
When disgraced Flight Crash Investigator Sofia Gilchrist's brother dies in the crash of a plane she was supposed to be on, Sofia breaks protocol and secretly begins investigating the crash.
The Secret Land
This documentary, filmed entirely by military photographers, recounts the U.S. Navy's 1946-47 expedition to Antarctica, known as Operation High Jump. The expedition was under the overall command of Admiral Richard E. Byrd, no stranger to the Antarctic. This was a large undertaking involving 13 ships and over 4000 thousand men. The fleet departed from Norfolk, Virginia traveling through the Panama canal and then southward to their final destination. The trip through the ice pack was fraught with danger and forced the submarine that was part of the fleet to withdraw. The trip was a success meeting all of its scientific goals.
Zero Hour!
In 1950s Canada, during a commercial flight, the pilots and some passengers suffer food poisoning, thus forcing an ex-WW2 fighter pilot to try to land the airliner in heavy fog.