‘It Is Miraculous What Happened’: Director Says of True Story in On a Wing and a Prayer
The director of a new faith-based film on Prime Video says he believes in the supernatural and thinks a real-life miracle took place among the characters on which the story is based.
The movie, On a Wing and a Prayer, tells the story of a dad, mom and children who were aboard a small plane off the coast of Florida in 2009 when the pilot died, mid-flight. With no co-pilot on board, the dad had to be coached to land the plane by talking to air traffic controllers and other pilots over the radio. Dennis Quad portrays the pilot, Doug White. Roma Downey produced it.
A turning point in the movie and in real life came when White spoke over the radio with Kari Sorenson, a pilot who was in Connecticut and who had experience flying that type of plane. Sorenson got out his manuals and flight checklists.
“It is miraculous what happened,” director Sean McNamara told Christian Headlines. “Had they not come together in that order in the ways they did with Kari Sorensen in Connecticut getting on the phone and giving them the direction they needed, it would have had a very different outcome. But I feel that there was way more to this and there was a certain degree of providence that happened all over the place, even to the point where a film is made about it.
“So I do believe in miracles and I believe the audience every once in a while needs to see stories likes these. … I think we need that steady audience of just quality stories that tell about the miracles that happen every day in the world.”
McNamara previously directed Soul Surfer, The Miracle Season and a Hallmark series, Chesapeake Shores. He also produced a Pure Flix film, Moonrise, starring country singer Granger Smith.
“All my movies, in a weird way, have the same thematic background – they’re inspirational, and they kind of say, ‘Don’t give up.’”
He compared his movies to the book series Chicken Soup for the Soul, which debuted in the 1990s and recounted inspirational real-life stories.
“I definitely am attracted to films about faith, hope, inspiration,” McNamara told Christian Headlines. “… In today’s world, there’s so much hate going on that we have to remind ourselves with these films that there’s some goodness out there, too. And if you look for it, you’ll find it. That’s the biggest thing. You have to look for it.”
Photo credit: Courtesy Prime Video
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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