John Travolta recently recalled a near-death experience he had while flying to a London screening of the Disney+ movie Togo. Travolta said the plane’s engine suddenly sputtered and nose dived, causing him to struggle to keep control. He was able to bring the plane back to safety.
Travolta also recalled a near-death experience he had in 1992 while flying a corporate jet with his family from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Rockland, Maine. The plane experienced a total electrical failure. Travolta said, “I had my family on board and I said, ‘This is it. I can’t believe I’m going to die in this plane'”.
Travolta said the experience was a reminder of the importance of safety and preparation when flying. He also said that when he read the book that inspired the movie, it resonated more because of his personal experience.
“The kismet of the project is, I actually experienced a total electrical failure, not in a Vampire but a corporate jet, over Washington DC, prior to my discovering the book.
“So when I read the book, it resonated more because of this experience I’d personally had. I knew what it felt like to absolutely think you’re going to die, because I had two good jet engines but I had no instruments, no electric, nothing.
“And I thought it was over, just like this boy, portrayed so beautifully [by actor Ben Radcliffe]. He captured that despair when you think you’re actually going to die.
“I had my family on board and I said, ‘This is it, I can’t believe I’m going to die in this plane.’ And then, as if by a miracle, we descended to a lower altitude, I saw the Washington DC Monument and identified that Washington National Airport was right next to it and I made a landing. So I’m reading this book saying, ‘I’ve lived this.’”
Travolta first dreamed of adapting the book thirty years ago, with himself in the role of the young pilot who encounters difficulties. “I was young enough then that I could’ve played that part,” he jokes. “But I had to wait 30 years to play the shepherd.”
