On a Wing and a Prayer, a film by Sean McNamara, is based on the remarkable true tale of Doug White and his family. On Easter Sunday 2009, he and his family are travelling home to Archibald, Louisiana on a King Air 200 N559DW when he notices that the plane’s pilot has passed out and has no alternative but to take over control of the aeroplane. Doug safely lands the plane with the aid of multiple air traffic controllers and a particular flight instructor named Kari Sorenson (Jesse Metcalfe). We have information about Sorenson’s current location and whether he is a real person.
Is Kari Sorenson a Real Person?
Kari Sorensen is, in fact, a real person. In the movie, Joe Cabuk’s unconsciousness as the pilot is discovered by Doug White ten minutes after takeoff. But before going insane, the latter showed him how to use the King Air’s radio. In order to contact ground control, Doug employs what he has learned, and the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center team is the first to reply. Later, they deliver him to Fort Meyer Airport, where they locate pilot Brian Norton to assist them. Yet, even Norton had never operated a King Air. This causes Kari Sorenson, a friend that Dan Favio, another air traffic controller, made when stationed in Danbury, Connecticut, to get in touch with him.
The genuine Sorenson, according to Favio, could fly anything. Although he had previously flown a King Air, he hadn’t done so since 1995. Thankfully, Sorenson still had the instructions and the cockpit diagram. In order to assist Doug, a chain of information was created. Sorenson chatted with Favio, who then engaged Norton and Doug in conversation. They assisted him, and in 20 minutes he had learned enough to fly a King Air to make a successful landing.
“[Sorenson] didn’t behave like he was a hero; he simply acted like he was sort of in the right position at the right time to do the right thing,” Metcalfe said in reference to the real-life character he portrays in the movie. Nonetheless, it appears in the universe of our script as though saving the White family was a cathartic event for him.
When telling the story, the movie uses some artistic licence. For instance, Sorenson and Doug never spoke throughout the flight, despite what is depicted in “On a Wing and a Prayer.” It appears like the actual flight instructor is cool with it. “[Hollywood] also has work to do. They have to sell movies, he said, according to the same outlet.
Where is Kari Sorenson Now?
Kari Sorenson is still a resident of Danbury and is currently engaged to Ashley Harrison, who was there at the time of the incident and was portrayed by Anna Enger Ritch in the movie. “We’ve seen Maggie and Bailey,” Kerri said, referring to Doug’s daughters who were on the plane with him. They got married and are now parents of their own children. It’s just a fantastic feeling to watch the family prospering and developing, and now that their young daughters are starting to mature, Harrison told CT Insider.
Sorenson learned to fly from his father, who passed away in an aircraft accident in White Plains, New York, in 1981. One of the victims of the TWA Flight 800 tragedy was his stepfather. These sad events didn’t, however, lessen his passion of flying. When Favio said Sorenson could fly anything, he was essentially correct. The flying instructor had logged 3,500 hours in a King Air by the time he retired in 2009 to spend more time with his daughter.
Harrison and Sorenson started dating in 2008, and they have been working together since 2015. We were all quite clinical during this process, so it’s very tough to express. The controllers and I each had a task to complete, and we completed them successfully as a team, he recalled. Then it kind of brought back the moment when you thought, “Holy cow, things could have gone so differently.”
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