10 best aviation disaster movies of all time

Despite plane crashes being extremely rare, they hold a priority spot in our minds as being one of the easiest things that can happen to us. Maybe that’s why plane crash movies are so loved and watched: on one hand, they help us challenge our fears; on the other, it’s comforting to look at plane crashes without actually experiencing one. If you don’t know what to watch, this article will help you make up your mind. Here are the 10 best aviation disaster movies ever made, whether the plane crash is the main event or an isolated, yet terrifying plot point.

1. Final Destination (2000)

Final Destination is a highly acclaimed horror saga, and the first movie features one of the most famous plane crashes in films. Despite the plane crash is not the main plot point, it is a central moment from which the main events of the movie originate. It all starts with a teenager’s premonition that his flight is going to explode after take off. The same dreary fantasy that many people live before having a flight, especially if they don’t fly often. In the movie, though, this gloomy feeling actually turns out to be legitimate, since the plane actually explodes. The main character and his friends survive the plane crash by getting off, however their nightmare isn’t over, since death is now trying to claim their lives anyway. The opening sequence has permanently entered horror movies history, and is one of the most known aviation disasters in movies.

2. Cast Away (2000)

Tom Hanks plays a FedEx systems engineer whose cargo plane goes down over the Pacific during a storm, leaving him stranded alone on a deserted island for years with only a volleyball for company. The crash sequence, a prolonged and terrifying descent into the ocean, is considered one of the most realistic and memorable in film history, even though the survival story that follows is the true heart of Cast Away. 

3. Sully (2016)

Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger safely landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in 2009 after both engines failed following a bird strike, saving all 155 people on board. This role is also played by Tom Hanks, but the film is based on a true story that became known as the "Miracle on the Hudson," and it is arguably the most iconic and widely recognized entry on this list: an emergency landing that ended not in tragedy, but in one of aviation's most celebrated rescues. It is available to stream or rent on most major platforms.

4. Flight (2012)

Denzel Washington plays a veteran pilot who manages to save nearly everyone on board after his plane suffers a catastrophic mechanical failure, pulling off a near-impossible landing, only for an investigation to reveal he was flying under the influence. Despite Flight being fictional, the emergency-landing sequence was praised for its technical realism, and the story that follows is less about the crash and more about addiction and accountability. 

5. Alive (1993)

Based on the real 1972 crash of a flight carrying a Uruguayan rugby team into the Andes mountains, Alive follows the survivors as they endure freezing temperatures, limited supplies, and increasingly desperate choices to stay alive for over two months before rescue. It is one of the best-known true stories in aviation history, and the film does not shy away from just how extreme the survivors’ circumstances became. This is a step further for those that are not satisfied by made up stories and truly want to engage with something real.

6. United 93 (2006)

This docudrama reconstructs, close to real time, the events aboard United Airlines Flight 93 during the September 11, 2001 attacks, when passengers realized their hijacked plane was being used as a weapon and chose to fight back before it could reach its target. It is based on a true story and was widely praised for its restrained, documentary-style approach, avoiding sensationalism in favor of a grounded, harrowing account of what likely happened on board. What makes United 93 worth watching is that it recounts one of history’s most tragic events from a different perspective, giving us insight into another kind of horror, the one lived by the people on board the plane rather than inside the towers.

7. The Grey (2011)

Liam Neeson leads a group of workers at an oil facility who survive a small plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness, only to find themselves stalked by a pack of wolves as they try to reach safety through brutal, freezing terrain. The crash sequence is intense and well-regarded for its realism, but The Grey quickly shifts to a survival story about endurance and grief rather than aviation itself.

8. Flightplan (2005)

Jodie Foster plays an aircraft engineer flying home with her young daughter after her husband's death, only for the girl to vanish mid-flight, with no record she ever boarded. The tension here comes from psychological mystery rather than an actual crash, as Foster's character races to prove she is not losing her mind while uncovering a conspiracy, as even the spectator wonders whether she is imagining everything or not. Flightplan places itself more as a mystery in the sky than a disaster film, but it hits with the same intensity on the same fears, especially since the risk of a crash is always around the corner.

9. Non-Stop (2014)

A federal air marshal starts receiving anonymous text messages mid-flight, threatening to kill a passenger every twenty minutes unless a huge ransom is paid, with no obvious way to work out who is behind it. Non-Stop is a high-tension thriller built around a hijack and bomb-threat plot rather than a literal crash, but it captures the same claustrophobic fear of being trapped in the air with no way out. 

10. Snakes on a plane (2006)

Despite not being about a plane crash, this movie definitely recounts an aviation disaster. A crate of venomous snakes is released aboard a passenger jet as part of an assassination plot, and the air marshal has to keep everyone alive until landing. Snakes on a plane became a cult classic because of its self-aware, over-the-top premise rather than any real tension, which makes it a fun, lighter watch for those that are more easily triggered by airplane crashes movies.

The reality behind aviation disaster movies

As gripping as these films are, real-world aviation disasters remain incredibly rare. You can learn more about the worst ones here. However, you are far more likely to deal with a delayed or cancelled flight than anything resembling what happens on screen. So instead of worrying about the scenarios above, put your energy into the thing that is actually likely to affect your trip. If your next flight is delayed, cancelled, or you are denied boarding, you could be entitled to compensation of up to £520 per passenger. Flight Delayed UK handles the whole claim for you, on a no win, no fee basis, so check your flight in a few minutes and let us take care of the rest.