After the crew becomes sick with food poisoning, a neurotic ex-fighter pilot must safely land a commercial airplane full of passengers.
Drowning his sorrows after that botched mission during World War II, Ted Striker, a traumatized ex-fighter-pilot with a neurotic fear of flying, still has not gotten over his old flame, flight attendant, Elaine Dickinson. Determined to win her back, Ted boards a domestic flight from Los Angeles to Chicago, only to come face-to-face with a severe case of in-flight food poisoning that is threatening everyone's lives. With most of the passengers and the entire cockpit crew down with the food-borne illness, Striker must confront his inner demons and take over the control of the ungovernable aircraft with the help of a gruff air-traffic controller and his former commander. Can Ted Striker land the airplane and save the passengers?—Nick Riganas
According to this (admittedly unattributed) post, Lesley Nielsen confirmed in an interview that the film was retitled " Flying High " in order to avoid any potential clash with the Australian film " Airport '80 " (itself originally titled Airport '79: The Concorde) which had been re-released in the same cycle and would therefore have been showing at the same cinemas.
Ted Striker just got dumped by his long-time girlfriend Elaine Dickinson, a flight attendant at Trans American Airlines. In his wish to get her back, he follows her aboard the plane, although he has had a deep aversion against anything winged since he lost several men in the war. During flight, he tries to contact her again and again, but as the crew and many passengers get seriously ill due to a bad fish meal, he has no chance to get to her. In fact, he seems to be the only healthy person aboard that has piloting experience. It is up to him to get the bird down in Chicago safely, before the poisoning starts causing casualties. But Ted Striker's aversion is a serious psychosis which breaks open and needs to be cured--immediately..—Julian Reischl <[email protected]>
Ex-fighter pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) is a traumatized war veteran turned taxi driver. Because of his neurotic fear of flying and his drinking problem - he splashes beverages anywhere but into his mouth - Ted has been unable to hold down a responsible job. His wartime girlfriend, Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty), now a stewardess at Trans American Airlines, breaks off her relationship with him before her rostered flight from Los Angeles to Chicago. In order to regain her love, Ted overcomes his fear of flying, abandons his taxicab and buys a ticket on the same flight. However, once on board, Elaine continues to reject him, causing to drive several other passengers to suicide by accident as he reminisces with sorrow and regret.
After the in-flight meal is served, many of the passengers fall sick, and Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielsen) quickly discovers that the fish served during meal service gave the passengers food poisoning. The stewards discover that the entire flight crew, including Captain Clarence Oveur (Peter Graves) and Roger Murdock (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), have all come down with food poisoning, leaving no one aboard to fly the airplane. Elaine contacts the Chicago control tower and is instructed by tower supervisor Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges) to activate the airplane's autopilot, a large blow-up dummy named "Otto", which will get them to Chicago but will not be able to land the airplane. Elaine realizes that Striker is their only chance, and he is convinced to fly the airplane, though he still feels his trauma will prevent him from landing the airplane safely.
After hearing Striker's name on the radio, McCroskey sends for Striker's former commander, Captain Rex Kramer (Robert Stack) - now serving as a commercial pilot - to help talk him down. As the plane nears Chicago, Striker neglects to check the oil temperature which damages one of the engines while a bad thunderstorm reduces visibility, making the landing even more difficult. Thanks to Kramer's endless stream of advice, Striker is able to overcome his fears and land the plane safely, despite the landing gear shearing off, with only minor injuries to some passengers. Impressed by Striker's display of courage, Elaine embraces and kisses him, rekindling their relationship. The lovers watch as Otto takes control of the evacuated airplane and takes off after inflating a female companion.
