In article ,
Dudley Henriques wrote:

If I remember right, in that movie the bird was a DC6 and I think they
stayed at altitude until approach with a normal enroute altitude profile.
The big rub was the ongoing interaction between the right and left seats on
whether to ditch in the sea under power with the remaining fuel or try for
the approach and take a chance the engines would quit.

I remember them dumping everything they could overboard since they
couldn't maintain altitude, and then arguments over running flat
out as far as possible, or leaning aggressively. I don't remember
them in ground effect, except for barely clearing Portola Ridge on
approach into San Francisco.

John
--
John Clear - http://www.clear-prop.org/