The High and the Mighty is a 1953 novel by Ernest K. Gann about an airline flight from Honolulu to San Francisco. Just past the halfway point, or the point of no return, the flight has a catastrophic engine failure puncturing the wing and fuel tanks. As the flight crew struggles to get the damaged airliner to safety, human drama unfolds for both the crew and passengers. The High and the Mighty spent 57 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List, from May 1953 to June 1954, peaking out at number three. The success of the novel led to the creation of a 1954 film directed by William A. Wellman and starring John Wayne and Robert Stack. The novel/film is considered the original "airline disaster" story, sparking a new genre of film with the likes of the Airport movie series and the spoof comedy Airplane! series. The novel won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Club of California's 23rd Annual California Book Awards for 1953 fiction. Plot summary In Honolulu, a DC-4 airliner operated as TOPAC Flight 420 prepares to takeoff for San Francisco with 16 passengers and a crew of five. Former captain Dan Roman, the flight's veteran first officer known for his habit of whistling, is haunted by a takeoff crash in South America that killed his wife and son and left him with a permanent limp. 420's captain, Sullivan, suffers from a secret fear of responsibility after logging thousands of hours looking after the lives of passengers and crew. Young second officer Hobie Wheeler and veteran navigator Lenny Wilby are contrasts in age and experience. Stewardess Spalding attends her passengers, each with varying personal problems, and befriends the terminally ill Frank Briscoe after being charmed by his pocket watch. A last minute arrival, businessman Humphrey Agnew, soon causes her misgivings by his strange behavior. After a routine departure, 420 experiences sporadic sudden vibrations. Although the crew senses that something may be wrong with the propellers, they cannot locate a problem. When a vibration causes Spalding to burn her hand, Dan inspects the tail compartment but still finds nothing amiss. After nightfall, as the plane passes the point of no return, Agnew confronts fellow passenger Ken Childs, accusing him of having an affair with Agnew's wife. The men struggle and Agnew pulls out a gun, intending to shoot Childs, but before he can do so, the