John Travolta opened up about a near-death experience he had with now-late wife Kelly Preston.
On Thursday, November 23, the Grease star recalled the plane malfunction from 1992 while at a special screening of his new film, The Shepherd.
During the premiere’s Q&A, the star, who got his pilot’s license in 1976, told reporters that he once experienced a terrifying “total electrical failure” while flying himself, Preston, their son Jett and four other passengers from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to Rockland, Maine.
He noted that he had been through “what it felt like to absolutely think you’re going to die,” during the incident.
“I had two good jet engines, but I had no instruments, no electric, nothing. And I thought it was over,” he told a news outlet.
Although he feared for his life, Travolta was luckily able to make a safe landing.
“And then as if by a miracle, we descended as per the rules to lower altitude. I saw the Washington D.C. monument and identified that Washington National Airport was next to it and I made a landing just like [Freddie] does in the film,” he shared.
Travolta explained that the horrifying experience was what led him to want to be a part of The Shepard, which was adapted from Frederick Forsyth’s 1975 novel.
According to the synopsis, the film “tells the story of Freddie Hooke (played by Ben Radcliffe), a young Royal Air Force pilot flying home for Christmas across the North Sea. Shortly into the journey, his de Havilland Vampire jet suffers total electrical failure, leaving Freddie facing almost certain death” until a “mysterious pilot (played by Travolta) appears in the sky, ready to guide the young man to safety.”
The 69-year-old explained, “When I read [Forsyth’s] book, it resonated even more because of this experience I had personally had.”
