Hailey's professional writing career began in 1955 with a script called "Flight into Danger", which was purchased by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and telecast on 3 April 1956. This story of a plane flight in jeopardy after its crew is incapacitated was "the smash hit of the season," won enormous acclaim, and was broadcast internationally. It was adapted as a novel by "John Castle" (a pseudonym for Ronald Payne and John Garrod), with Hailey credited as co-author; it was published by Britain's Souvenir Press in 1958 under its original title, but renamed "Runway Zero-Eight" (Doubleday) for its 1959 American publication. The story was filmed in 1957 as "Zero Hour!" (Paramount), and for television in 1971 as "Terror in the Sky". Perhaps most famously, its plot device was recycled as the basis for Paramount's 1980 parody "Airplane!".