Special Sub-Topic: "Airplane!" The Movie Click Here To Play: "Airplane!" The Movie

What airline was the fateful flight a part of?

Trans American. This can be heard several times in the movie. One of these is at the end when the flight attendant says, "Thank you for flying Trans American Airlines," while the sick (from the food poisoning) and well passengers are leaving the plane.

What song did everyone dance to in the bar where Ted first met Elaine?

"Stayin' Alive". The producers of the film received permission from The Bee Gees, writers of this song, to speed it up 10%. Ted first met Elaine when her dancing partner was stabbed.

Three people killed themselves because of Ted's boring war stories. Which was not one of the ways which they died?

Poisoning. First, a woman hanged herself, then a man stabbed himself, and finally another man died by burning himself in an explosion.

Which famous sports legend played Roger Murdock, co-pilot?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The part was originally written for Pete Rose, but was rewritten for Abdul-Jabbar when it was found that Rose was unavailable. "Flight 209, you're cleared for takeoff." "Roger." "Huh?"

Finish the slogan: "WZAZ in Chicago, where..."

"...disco lives forever.". This is heard right before the low-flying plane knocks the station's antenna off. Also, note the name of the station, WZAZ. This comes from the names of the producers, Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker.

Johnny's lines were all ad-libbed; the actor was given the previous line and was told to make his own line. Who played Johnny the airline worker?

Stephen Stucker. The others were all also in the movie, though only Stucker got to ad-lib his lines. Bridges played Steve McCroskey, Stack played Rex Cramer, and Nielsen was Dr. Rumack.

When Ted was trying to concentrate on flying, who was Manny Mota pinch-hitting for?

Pedro Borbon. Interestingly, Manny Mota and Pedro Borbon were both professional major league players, but were never on the same team together.

What were the exact words used by McCroskey to describe the location of the manual inflation nozzle on the automatic pilot?

On the beltline. This was revealed when Otto, the automatic pilot, started to deflate, thus lowering the altitude of the plane. This scene had several takes, each succeeding one with the nozzle slightly higher up. The take with it in the lowest position was used.

What was the name of the lieutenant in the military hospital who thought he was Ethel Merman?

Lt. Hurwitz. Ethel Merman actually played this part in a cameo role, though she couldn't be on the set until after noon; it took all morning to do her hair.

According to Ted, how many times had he been nervous before?

Lots of times. "Nervous?" "Yes." "First time?" "No, I've been nervous lots of times before." Ted's fellow passenger asks him this question just before the plane takes off. I hope you enjoyed the quiz!