Synopsis

After her husband dies in Berlin, aircraft engineer Kyle Pratt boards a flight to New York with her young daughter and his coffin. Several hours into the journey, Kyle wakes to discover that her daughter has vanished. The crew and passengers insist the girl was never aboard, forcing Kyle to search the enormous aircraft while confronting the possibility that grief has distorted her perception.

Factoids & Trivia

• The role of Kyle Pratt was originally written for a male character intended for Sean Penn. The character's name remained Kyle after the part was rewritten for Jodie Foster.

• The aircraft featured in the film, the Elgin E-474 operated by the fictional Aalto Airlines, does not exist. Its design combines elements associated with large commercial airliners, particularly the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747.

• The production built the aircraft interiors and cockpit from scratch. Real airplane components, including seats and galleys, were incorporated into some of the sets.

• The set was designed with movable walls and ceilings, as well as camera tracks, allowing the crew to film the plane's confined spaces from a wide range of angles.

• The cockpit instrument panel had to be newly constructed because a reusable film prop instrument panel had been destroyed during the production of Cast Away.

• Filming took place in Germany and the United States, including Leipzig/Halle Airport, Berlin, Los Angeles-area locations, and California's Mojave Desert, which doubled for the fictional Goose Bay Airport.

• The movie was the final Touchstone Pictures release issued on VHS.