This is one of the more manic of the numerous Die Hard imitations, with Ray Liotta as a psycho who hijacks a Christmas Eve flight transporting him to prison. Lauren Holly plays the plucky flight attendant who has to beat off Liotta's advances and attempt to land the aircraft safely. This is far from sophisticated adult entertainment, but it's so ludicrously overblown that it's hard not to be won over by the sheer enthusiasm and abandonment of logic and credibility. Veteran director Robert Butler is an old hand when it comes to this kind of airborne nonsense, having made the 1976 TV movie Mayday at 40,000 Feet!, not to mention several episodes of the TV series The New Adventures of Superman.

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.