The pilot introduces the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, who experience a plane crash and end up on a mysterious island.

Three of the characters, Jack Shephard (Matthew Fox), Kate Austen (Evangeline Lilly) and Charlie Pace (Dominic Monaghan), are featured before the crash in flashbacks of their experiences on the plane as it breaks apart in mid-air; this narrative technique would be reused in almost every subsequent episode of the series.

He emerges on a beach, confronted by the wreckage of Oceanic Flight 815, a plane he was on that was traveling from Sydney to Los Angeles.

A surgeon, Jack administers medical aid to several survivors, assisting the pregnant Claire Littleton and giving CPR to an unconscious Rose Nadler.

Sayid Jarrah organizes a clean-up group, while Hurley salvages food from the plane's galley and distributes them to survivors.

Shannon Rutherford refuses chocolate offered by her stepbrother Boone Carlyle, believing rescue is imminent.

The following morning, Jack and Kate set out to retrieve the plane's transceiver from its front section, which landed in the jungle.

He tells them that the plane lost radio contact six hours after takeoff, whereupon it turned back for Fiji and hit wake turbulence.

Suddenly the strange roaring noise is heard again, and the pilot is seized by something outside the plane, prompting the trio to grab the transceiver and flee.

The turbulence gets worse until the plane starts to veer wildly, causing a man to hit the ceiling and oxygen masks to fall.

Jack, Kate, and Charlie head back to the beach, where ten-year-old Walt discovers a pair of handcuffs, which he shows to his father, Michael.

Jack determines that, with no prospects of immediate rescue, he has to try his best to treat the worst-injured survivor, an unconscious U.S. marshal with a piece of wreckage lodged in his side.

Since the transmission lasts 30 seconds and each iteration states the number of repeats thus far, Sayid calculates that it has been broadcasting for over 16 years.

[3] Writer Jeffrey Lieber was contacted by Spelling's vice president of series development Ted Gold, and in September 2003 pitched to ABC the concepts for what he called Nowhere.

[4] In January 2004 Braun contacted J. J. Abrams, who developed the TV series Alias for ABC, to write a new pilot script, which would retain the title Lost.

[5] Although initially hesitant, Abrams warmed up to the idea on the condition that the series would have a supernatural angle to it and he was assigned a writing partner.

[6][7] ABC executive Heather Kadin sent him Damon Lindelof, who had long intended to meet Abrams as he wished to write for Alias.

[5] Despite the short schedule, the creative team remained flexible enough to modify or create characters to fit actors they wished to cast.

[12] The pilot wound up being played by Greg Grunberg, a childhood friend of Abrams who the producer brings into most of his projects.

She was not going to be a fugitive, instead her husband was going to go to the bathroom shortly before the plane split in mid air, and she would remain adamant on the Island that he was alive.

She was supposed to start on the first day of filming, but the schedule was rearranged to give her more time, and in the meantime, the producers began auditioning again in case the visa did not come through.

They were narrowed down to the top three, with Malcolm David Kelley winning it, after the producers were impressed with his role in Antwone Fisher.

Ian Somerhalder was cast in the role, but he did not want to shoot a pilot; however, he jumped at the opportunity once he found out he would be working with Abrams.

From a video she sent to the producers, they were able to tell that de Ravin had the youth and sweetness required for the role, but also looked as though she had some life experience.

[12] Sayid was not in the original draft of the pilot episode, but executive consultant Jeff Pinkner had worked with Naveen Andrews on a short-lived ABC series called The Beast, and was keen to have him on Lost.

He found it especially hard as it was his first time acting in Korean, and he had not spoken in it regularly since being in high school, when he would talk to his parents.

[12] Filming began on March 11, 2004, with soundstage shooting in Los Angeles for the scenes set inside the flight.

[15] The wreckage of Flight 815 was made with a Lockheed L-1011 built in 1972 and previously used by Delta Air Lines until 1998, that after being purchased by ABC was broken up and sent to Hawaii by ship.

[38][39][40][41] "Pilot", along with "House of the Rising Sun" and "The Moth", won a Prism Award for Charlie's drug storyline.