Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal is a 2001 Direct to Video action-thriller film directed by Jorge Montessi and starring Joe Mantegna, Craig Sheffer, Gabrielle Anwar, Rutger Hauer, Zak Santiago and Monika Schnarre and introducing John Mann as Slade Craven. It is the third entry of the Turbulence trilogy, preceded by Turbulence and Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying.
This film provides examples of:
- All Part of the Show: After the hijacker impersonating the heavy metal singer Craven shoots one of the pilots, everyone initially assumes it to be part of Craven's "prince of darkness" act.
- Apocalypse Cult: The hijackers are all members of a Satanic cult and are trying to crash the plane into a church in Kansas to bring about the apocalypse.
- Artistic License – Gun Safety: Agent Hayden pulls a gun on Nick, a non-violent criminal guilty of hacking, when she apparently decides to arrest him by herself. Not much later she shoves it in his face to force him to be quiet while she searches his apartment (without any warrant).
- Disconnected by Death: The terrorists blow up an air traffic control tower in San Diego while they were on the phone with the FBI.
- Heel–Faith Turn: In the cockpit, Craven pulls off his "Sign of the Devil" necklace and asks God to help him land the plane safely.
- I Know Mortal Kombat: The pilots are dead, and no one aboard knows how to fly (or land). Craven's Voice with an Internet Connection is a hacker named Nick, who explains that he's been playing flight simulators all his childhood and asks the FBI agent holding him to allow him to help Craven land the plane. He turns on a flight simulator and sets it to the same conditions as Craven's plane, while the FBI agent hacks into the nearby airport control tower, so Nick has access to radar. He manages to successfully guide the rock star to land the plane.
- Just Plane Wrong:
- The "communications bay" Craven is locked in has a wood floor, a cheap metal shelf, unsecured equipment that would have fallen during take-off, and is much too large. The equipment rack is not even close to looking correct.
- When Craven is forced to fly the plane, Nick (on the radio) tells him to "type 230" into the FMC and then the plane will land itself. Um, no. Even if that was the correct way to enter the heading for the autopilot, all that would do is tell the plane to keep steady at heading 230. Re-configuring the flight plan in the FMC for an ILS auto-land is much more complex.
- During the manual landing, no mention is ever made of approach angle or speed. Nick does have Craven set the flaps, though.
- At no point do they ever line the plane up with the airport. Craven just pulls it out of two dives and is then magically lined up perfectly for the runway.
- Large Ham: Simon Flanders when he's impersonating Craven.
- The Mole: The co-pilot and Erica Black.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Slade Craven closely resembles 90's-era Marilyn Manson.
- "Not So Different" Remark: When Agent Hayden busts Nick for his hacking, she admits she had to hack into a government system to track him down. He says they are not so different.
- Voice with an Internet Connection: Nick is this to Craven.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Craven knocked out Simon Flanders and put him in the lavatory with only a galley cart blocking the door. At the end of the movie, he's too wrapped up with his fans and doesn't tell any authorities about the hijacker still being alive and on the plane.
