On a Wing and a Prayer tells the harrowing true tale of Doug White (Dennis Quaid), a 56-year-old pharmacist, returning to their home in a King Air 200 private plane with his family after attending his brother’s funeral. However, soon after take-off, their pilot suffers from a heart attack.
Doug must quickly learn to fly the plane in mid-air to save his family. With the help of Fort Myers air traffic control and a flight instructor from Danbury, Connecticut, Doug must undergo a terrifying learning experience. The film also has a religious aspect, as his family, who attend a Church of Christ, pray for a miracle to land safely.
As the film takes place on a moving plane (and a few airport scenes), fans wonder what the filming locations are.
Where was On a Wing and a Prayer filmed – a breakdown of filming locations
Fulton County Airport, Georgia
On a Wing and a Prayer takes place mainly on a plane, and of course, planes take off and land at airports. To mimic this, the production team filmed at a real-life airport, namely Fulton County Airport in Georgia.
This would have needed permission from authoritative bodies, namely the Georgia Department of Transportation. You can’t just film at an airport, after all. But this gives the film higher authenticity for those sequences where the characters are at an airport and is ultimately cheaper than constructing a set.
Covington Soundstage, Georgia
While the true story took place between Marco Island, Florida, and Louisiana, the whole of this production took place in the state of Georgia. It’s a great location to imitate many other places and environments. From the lush forests to the towering skyscrapers, there isn’t much more the crew could ask for.
And, because Georgia is home to many studios, what isn’t readily available can be created with film sets.
Another reason why Georgia is the location for filmmakers is the financial incentives. Georgia’s Entertainment Industry Investment Act provides a 20% tax credit for companies that spend $500,000 or more on production and post-production in Georgia. This is applicable to companies producing feature films, television series, music videos, commercials, and even interactive games.
It’s one of the things that’s helped the state grow an abundance of productions-focused businesses.
As films cost millions of dollars to make, On a Wing and a Prayer would more than meet this threshold.
Jess Metcalfe, who plays Corey in the film, had this to say in an interview with Atlanta News.
“It was shot in a studio here in Georgia and, uh, you know one of the producers of the movie Autumn Bailey-Ford is a local…and the other producers were LightWorkers, and the head of LightWorkers is Roma Downey, and they were great people to work with, and I had an awesome experience out here.”
