Having seen this on TV when I was a kid in the '50s, I guess I saw this and "Airplane!" in the correct order because I thought it was good even when I saw it later as an adult (allowing for the age of the movie). Dana Andrews' character had flown single-engine fighter aircraft in World War II. When the pilot and co-pilot of the passenger plane both passed out due to the food poisoning, the doctor had the stewardess ask the passengers if there was anyone on board who had flight experience to "help the pilot with the radio because the co-pilot had taken ill also." Of course this was a pretext so as not to panic the passengers because both pilots were out. What followed was the best scene in my opinion were the doctor told Dana Andrews that he had to fly the plane. He objected because he had only single-engine flight experience. The doctor told him he was the only one on board who stood a chance of landing the plane. I can still see the look of terror on Dana Andrews' face as he panned the instrument panel with all its gauges and dials.
Most of the commentaries here agree that "Airplane!" was a spoof of this movie. However, there was one other serious movie with this same plot, "Terror in the Sky" (1971) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067844 with Doug McClure who played an ex-helicopter pilot from the Vietnam War. Having a helicopter pilot (an ex- at that!) attempt to fly a multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft really stretches credibility more than a single-engine rated pilot.
Most of the commentaries here agree that "Airplane!" was a spoof of this movie. However, there was one other serious movie with this same plot, "Terror in the Sky" (1971) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067844 with Doug McClure who played an ex-helicopter pilot from the Vietnam War. Having a helicopter pilot (an ex- at that!) attempt to fly a multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft really stretches credibility more than a single-engine rated pilot.