Directed by Matt Earl Beesley
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn, Gary Sinise & Jeremy R Littman
"Turbulence" is the 3rd episode of Season 5 and the 95th overall. It originally aired October 8, 2008.
A man is stabbed to death in the lavatory of a flight Mac is on. The team has to race to find the killer before the passengers are released by airline security.
Tropes for the episode:
- Beast in the Building: Nightclub owner Terrance Davis keeps his pet jaguar on the premises, and his scantily clad female employees walk her around on a leash.
- Cut Himself Shaving: Lampshaded by a suspect when Mac finds blood on the man's cuff:
- Death in the Clouds: The flight is on its way to D.C. when the body is discovered.
- Episode on a Plane: Even after the plane returns to NYC, a good bit of the action is onboard as the team searches for evidence.
- Hollywood Silencer: A perp uses a teddy bear as a silencer for a 50 caliber pistol. This occurs in a hotel room and no one hears it happen.
- The Informant: Terrence Davis, an ex-con, agrees to become Flack's confidential informant in exchange for a plea deal on a parole violation for keeping a firearm in the office of the nightclub he now owns.
- Jurisdiction Friction: Zig-zagged. The FAA authorities allow Mac to be in charge of the crime scene, but then they release the passengers before the killer is caught.
- Mile-High Club: The victim is revealed to have "joined" by having sex with a flight attendant in the plane's lavatory while in flight shortly before his demise.
- Panthera Awesome: Terence Davis, a former drug dealer turned nightclub owner, keeps his pet jaguar on the premises. He tells the detectives that she's a bigger draw to the club than he is.
- Pillow Silencer: A teddy bear is used as a silencer in the murder of a Federal Air Marshall.
- Plot Allergy: Flack's allergy to cats comes up again (see "Zoo York"). He and Danny are looking for someone in a nightclub:Flack: [sneezes] Either I'm allergic to half-naked women, or there's a cat in here.Danny: [spies a panther on a leash] There's a cat in here.
- Terminology Title: Term describing unstable conditions during flight.
- What You Are in the Dark: As pointed out by Mac, the flight attendant who killed the fake air marshal could've and should've stepped forward to admit to doing so to stop him from hijacking the plane. Instead, she got greedy and tried to run off with all his smuggled money for herself, landing herself in jail once the team figures everything out and catches up to her.Mac: You had two choices: come forward, having prevented a hijacking, or go for the cash. You made the wrong choice, and now you're grounded.
- You Are Too Late: The "gotta think of a new plan" version occurs after the passengers are released . The team keep processing evidence and discover the man was killed by one of the flight attendants. Mac and Flack race through the airport and board her next flight just in time to arrest her before takeoff.
