'I thought it was over': When John Travolta reflected on his most frightening flying experience

John Travolta is an Oscar-winning Hollywood actor best known for his iconic roles in 'Grease' and 'Pulp Fiction'. While most know him for his work on screen, Travolta has been a licensed pilot for decades. Back in 2023, a London premiere appearance brought back one of the most terrifying moments of his life, when Travolta opened up about a near-fatal experience in the cockpit.At the London premiere of 'The Shepherd', John Travolta opened up about a real life emergency he faced while flying a corporate jet over Washington D.C."I actually experienced a total electrical failure, not in a Vampire, but in a corporate jet over Washington D.C.," he said. Travolta, who has his own pilot's license, shared that the incident resonated deeply with him when he first read Frederick Forsyth's book on which 'The Shepherd' is based. "So when I read it, it resonated even more because of this experience I had personally had," he added.Travolta did not hold back describing what it felt like in that cockpit. "I knew what it felt like to absolutely think you're going to die," he said."I had two good jet engines, but I had no instruments, no electric, nothing. And I thought it was over." He also revealed that his family was on board during the flight. "I had my family on board and I said 'This is it, I can't believe I'm gonna die in this plane,'" Travolta recalled.A 1995 New Yorker feature had previously documented the incident, describing how Travolta made an emergency landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport during a flight with his family back in 1992.A Washington Post report noted that investigators concluded the threat of a mid-air collision was very real during that flight, with a Boeing 727 bound for New York as the other plane involved. "And then as if by a miracle, we descended as per the rules to a lower altitude. I saw that Washington D.C. monument and identified that Washington National Airport was right next to it, and I made a landing just like the pilot Freddie Hooke does in the film," he recalled.Travolta also revealed back then that he had been trying to bring 'The Shepherd' to the screen for three decades."Because it was right after 'Pulp Fiction,' I was doing one movie after another," he said. "After 10 years, I just let it go and decided that I was never going to really get to do it." It was only when writer and director Iain Softley connected with him that the project finally came together. "It took 30 years but here I am tonight," Travolta said and for a man who once thought his time was up at 30,000 feet, that moment on the premiere stage must have felt like everything.