Flight is a film about two crashes. One is quick, external and literal, the other is prolonged, internal and metaphorical, but both are equally harrowing. The former occurs on a seemingly normal day in the life of Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington), who is introduced lying on a bed, still drunk after a night cavorting with a beautiful woman half his age (Nadine Velazquez). After snorting a few lines of cocaine to counteract the effects of the alcohol, he strolls out to reveal that he is, in fact, an airline pilot, and he's got a plane to fly from Orlando to Atlanta. Despite his inebriated state, Whitaker remains a highly skilled professional, and the plane has a relatively smooth take-off in the face of adverse weather conditions.