Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Back to Opinion

How a Flight Was Lost in the ‘Twilight Zone’

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has now been missing for two weeks, and there’s still no sign of the aircraft and no real clue to the mystery of its disappearance.

This clip might not dispel the fog of unknown, but it’s worth a look if only to widen the lens of possibility. It’s a classic “Twilight Zone” episode, “The Odyssey of Flight 33,” aired February 24, 1961 (season 2, episode 18). It offers us the opportunity to look at the mystery of a jetliner’s inexplicable disappearance from the point of view of the crew of the missing plane, trying to figure out how they can get themselves and their passengers back from … the Twilight Zone.

Note: As you watch, note that the flight was bound from London to Idlewild Airport, which had been opened in 1948. Two years after the episode aired, Idlewild was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport.

And while you’re at it, Wikipedia has some interesting insight into the private Jewish journey of the immortal Rod Serling, creator “The Twilight Zone” and one of the greatest TV writers of all time.

The clip is in three parts. Parts 2 and 3 after the jump.

The Odyssey of Flight 33, Part 1

The Odyssey of Flight 33, Part 2

The Odyssey of Flight 33, Part 3

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.