Con Air - Plot

Plot

Former U.S. Army Ranger Cameron Poe is sentenced to a maximum-security federal penitentiary for using excessive force and killing a drunk man who had been attempting to assault his pregnant wife, Tricia. Eight years later, Poe is paroled on good behavior, and eager to see his daughter Casey whom he has never met. Poe is arranged to be flown back home to Alabama on the C-123 Jailbird where he will be released on landing; several other prisoners, including his diabetic cellmate and friend Mike "Baby-O" O'Dell and criminal mastermind Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, are also being transported to a new Supermax prison. DEA agent Duncan Malloy wishes to bring aboard one of his agents, Willie Sims, as a prisoner to coax more information out of drug lord Francisco Cindino before he is incarcerated. Vince Larkin, the U.S. Marshal overseeing the transfer, agrees to it, but is unaware that Malloy has armed Sims with a gun.

Shortly after takeoff, Grissom incites a riot that allows them to hijack the Jailbird; Sims is killed when he attempts to stop Grissom. Grissom orders the aircraft to continue to Carson City for a scheduled prisoner transfer, where they will offload the guards and pilots disguised as prisoners in the middle of a dust-storm. Although he could have left the Jailbird during the transfer, Poe feigns cooperation with Grissom but leaves a recording device from Sims' body on one of the guards being offloaded. Among the new prisoners boarding the aircraft are Cindino, who masterminded their escape, their new pilot Swamp Thing, and serial killer Garland Greene, who even has the respect of Cyrus.

Grissom orders another prisoner, Joe "Pinball" Parker, to remove the transponder and plant it on another aircraft. Moments before the Jailbird takes off, the guards discover the clue Poe left behind and alert Malloy and Larkin. Pinball is unable to make it aboard the Jailbird on time and his body is lodged in the landing gear as the aircraft takes off when the security forces are alerted. Poe secretly writes a message to Larkin explaining Grissom's plan on Pinball's shirt and pushes the body out, where it lands in the middle of Fresno, California. Larkin calls for the National Guard to go to Lerner Airfield, an abandoned airbase, while using Malloy's sportscar to beat the Jailbird there.

The Jailbird lands at Lerner but overshoots the runway and grounds itself in the sand. Seeing no evidence of Cindino's jet, Grissom orders the prisoners to dig the Jailbird free. Meanwhile, Poe, seeking an insulin shot for Baby-O, meets Larkin, and the two run down their respective situations. Larkin finds Cindino boarding his private jet with his men, and manages to disable the jet before it leaves. Grissom discovers Cindino's treachery and kills him. Johnny 23 sees the inbound Guard forces and alerts the prisoners, who open the weapons locker on the Jailbird and set up an ambush. Larkin successfully leads the Guardsmen out of the danger. Grissom and the remaining prisoners return to the Jailbird and take off before Poe is able to escape with Baby-O and a female guard, Sally.

Grissom soon discovers Poe's true identity and prepares to kill him after shooting Baby-O. Malloy, having tracked down the Jailbird after being led astray by the transponder, opens fire on it and disables one of the engines. When Larkin tells Malloy about Poe's identity as a parolee, Malloy orders not to fire. They both order the Jailbird to land at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas; a lack of fuel forces them to crash-land on The Strip instead, ending up at the lobby of the Sands Hotel. Amidst the chaos, Poe is thanked by both Baby-O and Sally for his help. Grissom, Jones, and Swamp Thing escape on a fire truck. Larkin and Poe chase after them, eventually killing all three escapees. Poe finally reunites with Tricia and meets his daughter.

All of the convicts are now dead or recaptured, except for Garland Greene, playing craps and sipping a margarita in a casino.