Flight director tackles a true story.

With the take off of Denzel Washington’s Flight this week, we at BFF decided to celebrate the best films to feature the airborne mode of transport. Below is a list of our top 10 favourite plane movies. Ensure your seatbelts and fastened and that your tray tables are sealed correctly, and quickly check that you are neither beside nor near any young children or deranged lovers in the middle of a tiff and enjoy.

After United 93, Snakes on a Plane, Red Eye and Final Destination, I thought I’d survived the worst airplane disaster movies (despite my fear of flying). That was until Flight came along, loosely based on Alaska Airlines Flight 261, which crashed in the year 2000 killing 89 people, and inspired a whole new level of plane-related fear. Plunging the viewer into the ground at a few hundred miles per hour should be enough to raise the heart rate, but it is Denzel Washington’s story of alcohol addiction that is the most powerful.

He’s got another mediocre action film out – in this one he plays the grizzled vet to Ryan Reynolds’ wet-behind-the-ears n00b, so THAT’s new and exciting! – and more in the pipeline – has Denzel Washington forgotten the power and flair which won him two Oscars? No, actually, he hasn’t. Hang on, what do you mean you didn’t know about the two Oscars? Nurse – give this patient a Cheat Sheet, stat.

And Mars, thank goodness, is nowhere in sight.