Flight of the Phoenix (2004 film) Flight of the Phoenix (2004 film) Flight of the Phoenix is a 2004 American survival drama film and a remake of a 1965 film of the same name, both based on the 1964 novel "The Flight of the Phoenix", by Elleston Trevor, about a group of people who survive an aircraft crash in the Gobi Desert and must build a new aircraft out of the old one to escape. The film stars Dennis Quaid and Giovanni Ribisi. "Flight of the Phoenix" opened in the U.S. on December 17, 2004. The film was a box-office failure, and received generally mixed reviews;
Stress in the aviation industry onwards. Captain Protasiuk brought the aircraft down through the clouds at too low of an altitude, resulting in a controlled flight into terrain. His attempt to land failed and the plane crashed into a forest, killing the crew and all the passengers. Further study by the Interstate Aviation Committee regarding the cockpits voice recordings revealed that there was never a direct command for the pilot to go through with the landing, but the report did show that the pilot was under a "cascade of stress much of it emanating from his powerful passengers, as Captain Protasiuk slipped below the decision