'' Crash Landing '' ( aka '' Rescue at Sea '' ) is a 1958 dramatic " disaster " film directed by Fred F. Sears starring Gary Merrill and Nancy Reagan . This was the last film in which Nancy Reagan ( billed as Nancy Davis ) appeared , though she continued to work in television for some years thereafter . '' Crash Landing '' was based on Pan Am Flight 6 , a real-life ditching at sea . Transatlantic flight 627 Captain Steve Williams ( Gary Merrill ) is piloting a DC-7C commercial airliner on a flight from Lisbon to New York when two engines fail . One of the propellers can not be feathered , causing drag that makes it uncertain whether New York can be reached . The crippled aircraft is not the only concern for Williams as he has been faced with family complications . He is at odds with his wife Helen ( Nancy Davis ) over raising their son . Williams is also not liked by his co-pilot John Smithback ( Roger Smith ) , engineer Howard Whitney ( Sheridan Comerate ) and navigator Jed Sutton ( Richard Newton ) who resent his overbearing attitude
Pan Am Flight 6
Pan Am Flight 6
Crash Landing (1958 film)