Skip to content

Movies like First Flight

The best movies like First Flight are Plane (2023), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) and Con Air (1997). If First Flight hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Plane (2023)

    After a heroic job of successfully landing his storm-damaged aircraft in a war zone, a fearless pilot finds himself between the agendas of multiple militias planning to take the plane and its passengers hostage.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)

    A biplane pilot and WWI veteran takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory days he misses.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Con Air (1997)

    Newly-paroled former US Army ranger Cameron Poe is headed back to his wife, but must fly home aboard a prison transport flight dubbed "Jailbird" taking the “worst of the worst” prisoners, a group described as “pure predators”, to a new super-prison. Poe faces impossible odds when the transport plane is skyjacked mid-flight by the most vicious criminals in the country led by the mastermind — genius serial killer Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, and backed by black militant Diamond Dog and psychopath Billy Bedlam.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. Reach for the Sky (1956)

    The true story of airman Douglas Bader who overcame the loss of both legs in a 1931 flying accident to become a successful fighter pilot and wing leader during World War II.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. Aces High (1976)

    The first World War is in its third year and aerial combat above the Western Front is consuming the nation's favored children at an appalling rate. By early 1917, the average life-span of a British pilot is less than a fortnight. Such losses place a fearsome strain on Gresham, commanding officer of the squadron. Aces High recreates the early days of the Royal Flying Corps with some magnificently staged aerial battles, and sensitive direction presents a moving portrayal of the futilities of war.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

  6. The Delta Force (1986)

    A 707 aircraft jetliner, en route from Athens to Rome and then to New York City, is hijacked by Lebanese terrorists, who demand that the pilot take them to Beirut. What the terrorists don't realize is that an elite team of commandos have been called in to eliminate all terrorists on the jetliner.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. Firefox (1982)

    The Soviets have developed a revolutionary new jet fighter, called 'Firefox'. Worried that the jet will be used as a first-strike weapon—as there are rumours that it is undetectable by radar—the British send ex-Vietnam War pilot, Mitchell Gant on a covert mission into the Soviet Union to steal the Firefox.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. Home (2021)

    An ex-felon returns home from prison and must confront the demons of his past.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. Flyboys (2006)

    The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

    It's the hope that sustains the spirit of every GI: the dream of the day when he will finally return home. For three WWII veterans, the day has arrived. But for each man, the dream is about to become a nightmare.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  11. The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)

    In 1927, Charles Lindbergh struggles to finance and design an airplane that will make his New York to Paris flight the first solo transatlantic crossing.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. The High and the Mighty (1954)

    Dan Roman is a veteran pilot haunted by a tragic past. Now relegated to second-in-command cockpit assignments he finds himself on a routine Honolulu-to-San Francisco flight that takes a terrifying turn when disaster strikes high above the Pacific Ocean after the point of no return.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

  13. Twilight (1998)

    A retired detective accepts a simple task, unaware that it will tear open old, forgotten, but deadly wounds.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Passenger 57 (1992)

    Airline security specialist John Cutter, finally returning to the job after his wife's death, finds himself stuck on a flight being hijacked by notorious terrorist Charles Rane. Unfortunately for the terrorists, they're also stuck with him.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Strategic Air Command (1955)

    Air Force reservist Lt. Col. Robert "Dutch" Holland is recalled into active duty at the peak of his professional baseball career.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Stop-Loss (2008)

    A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Only Angels Have Wings (1939)

    A traveling performer arrives at a remote South American port town where the head of an air freight service must risk his pilots' lives to earn a major contract.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. Hell in the Pacific (1968)

    During World War II, a shot-down American pilot and a marooned Japanese navy captain find themselves stranded on the same small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Jarhead: Law of Return (2019)

    Major Ronan Jackson, an accomplished fighter pilot for the Israel Defense Forces and son of a U.S. Senator, is shot down while flying through Syrian airspace. After miraculously surviving the crash, Jackson is taken captive by a group of Hezbollah militiamen. A squad of elite soldiers, led by Gunnery Sergeant Dave Torres, risk their own lives in the hopes of saving an ally they've never met.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. A Guy Named Joe (1944)

    A cocky U.S. Army Air Force pilot stationed in England during World War II falls for a daring female flier. After he's killed on a mission, he's sent back to Earth by a heavenly General with a new assignment.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this

Like First Flight and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like First Flight?

The closest matches to First Flight are Plane (2023), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) and Con Air (1997). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after First Flight?

Start with Plane (2023), the closest match to First Flight.

What is the highest-rated movie like First Flight?

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), rated 7.7/10 by 777 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like First Flight?

Plane (2023) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like First Flight?

Yes: Plane (2023), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) and Con Air (1997).

How are movies similar to First Flight chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside First Flight, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

↑ ↓ to move · Enter to open · Full search page