When an in-flight collision incapacitates the pilots of an airplane bound for Los Angeles, stewardess Nancy Pryor (Karen Black) is forced to take over the controls. From the ground, her boyfriend Alan Murdock (Charlton Heston), 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 (Helen Reddy) and a cranky man (Sid Caesar) -- are aggravating the already tense atmosphere.