Director David Lowell Rich also helmed The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979), which had a similar plot.
According to Billy Crystal, when he was on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) (Earl Holliman/Charles Nelson Reilly/Billy Crystal/Donna Theodore/Merie Earle (1977)), the title of this movie was 'The Flight of the Maiden'.
For a TV movie this is risque; there is a nude scene with blonde bombshell Misty Rowe. However, the nudity is not part of the American TV-movie. It's only part of the re-titled Death Flight that was shown overseas, in European theaters.
Spoofed on Mystery Science THEATER 3000, MST3K, February 19, 1989. That was Season '0' KTMA Episode 13. In this episode Dr. Forester wins big in Vegas playing Keno
John de Lancie is a legend as far as airplane disaster goes, from his role as the air traffic controller on Breaking Bad. Before that he played Jeff Bridges' doomed friend onboard a crashing plane in Fearless. This movie, of course, preceded both of them.