Ted Striker
Ted is the main character in the movie and ultimately its hero, although he does take rather along time to get to that point of heroism. Ted is a former Navy pilot who has been afraid of flying ever since "that" incident during the war; however, he has forced himself to take this flight because he is madly in love with his former girlfriend, Elaine, who is a member of the flight crew. Elaine is not interested in rekindling their relationship but Ted is nothing if not persistent and in an effort to win back her affections puts himself through fear sweats, panic attacks and other associated terror symptoms in order to show her that he has changed and that he is no longer trapped by his past.
Ted is called upon to save the lives of the passengers and crew when he is he only person left on the plane who is in any condition to fly. He is also the most normal and well-adjusted passenger on the flight which is worrying in of itself. Ted seizes the opportunity to act and becomes the hero of the hour winning back Elaine in the process.
Elaine Dickinson
Elaine is the love of Ted's life but she is no longer interested in him because she feels that he is trapped by his past and specifically "that" incident in the war. She is a flight attendant and is very popular with both the crew and passengers, specifically the male passengers. She is the reason for Ted taking the flight and is actually also the reason for his stepping up and saving the day because he is anxious to impress her.
Captain Clarence Oveur
Captain Oveur is the pilot of the plane and also one of the Roger - Victor - Oveur trifecta of name-related running jokes. He is a smooth operator and usually a good pilot but his food poisoning renders him unable to fly and he is therefore the catalyst for Ted's saving the day.
Roger Murdock
Roger - Victor - Oveur is a long-standing joke throughout the movie and Roger Murdock is one of the characters whose name is part of this joke. He is a Captain Oveur's co-pilot, also incapacitated by food poisoning.
Otto
Otto is the inflatable auto-pilot whose presence enables many scenes involving physical humor and visual innuendo.
Captain Rex Kramer
Captain Kramer is a pilot with an obvious attraction to Elaine that both riles Ted and also gives him the extra motivation he needs to fly the plane and land it safely again.
Victor Basta
Victor is the voice in the control tower and the third of the characters whose name inspires a series of jokes all of its own.
Steve McCroskey
McCroskey is a loud and blustering character who does not make his concern for Ted's mental state and unsuitability as a pilot a secret, but who nonetheless talks him through everything that needs to be done in order to make a safe landing a reality. He is the archetypal panicky boss and a parody of the blustering man in charge from other disaster movies.
Dr Rumack
The doctor is one of the passengers on board and also a figure of authority and calm. He has an exceptionally expressive face that provides additional humor of its own and is the character with most of the comedy that makes a play on words.
Johnny
A control room employee given to flights of whimsy, Johnny provides irreverent running commentary on the events that conclude the film.
Leon
A control room operator who, as Johnny points out, is "getting laaaaaaaarger!"
