Flying along as flight engineer to check on Lucky's procedures is Quest chief pilot George Bouchard, Connie's former boyfriend.

Duke, a former attack helicopter pilot confirms it will work; however, when carried out, the gun alone cannot correct the elevator's malfunction.

To deal with the low temperatures at high altitude, they will attach a bundle of Air Force arctic gear to the flying boom of the tanker.

Gallant's chief engineer insists there isn't enough emergency oxygen for all of the passengers and recommends sacrificing older and infirm passengers by putting them into the rear cabin and tricking the crew into closing the rear valve to divert all oxygen to the masks in the front cabin.

The nose begins to drop and Lucky puts the plane into a steep dive to get to a lower altitude so the passengers can breathe.

Air traffic control talks Lucky down and they deploy the landing gear in time to release the water.

Julio Martinez wrote in Variety: "Final Descent surprises with a few truly original plot situations that make for a more than satisfying outing for stars Robert Urich and Annette O’Toole.