Actor John Travolta recalled a near-death experience he had while piloting a plane in 1992.
The 69-year-old recently discussed what happened while attending the London premiere of the Disney+ short film “The Shepherd.” In the movie, a pilot loses electrical control of the plane he’s flying.
“I actually experienced a total electrical failure, not in a Vampire, but in a corporate jet over Washington D.C.,” Travolta said during a Q&A about the film, per Variety. “So when I read [Frederick Forsyth’s book of the same name], it resonated even more because of this experience I had personally had.”
“I knew what it felt like to absolutely think you’re going to die,” he continued. “I had two good jet engines, but I had no instruments, no electric, nothing. And I thought it was over.”
A report about the incident described how investigators found “the threat of a mid-air collision was very real” at the time, according to The Washington Post. The report said a Boeing 727 headed for New York almost collided with Travolta’s plane, resulting in flights being suspended across four airports.
“And then as if by a miracle, we descended as per the rules to a lower altitude,” Travolta said. “I saw that Washington D.C. monument and identified that Washington National Airport was right next to it, and I made a landing just like [pilot Freddie Hooke] does in the film.”
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Frederick Forsyth’s 1975 novella, upon which the film is based, tells the story of Freddie Hooke (Ben Radcliffe), a young Royal Air Force pilot flying home for Christmas across the North Sea. After his plane has a total electrical failure, a pilot (Travolta) appears in the sky to guide him to safety, per Variety.
Travolta said Radcliffe “so beautifully” portrayed Freddie’s emotions in the movie. “He captured that despair when you think you’re actually going to die. And I had my family on board and I said ‘This is it, I can’t believe I’m gonna die in this plane.’”