John Travolta says a near-death experience inspired him to make his latest film, about a plane that suffers an electrical failure. “I knew what it felt like to absolutely think you’re going to die,” he told an audience at a screening of The Shepherd last night. It is based on a short story by Frederick Forsyth, published in 1975. “When I read it I thought: I’ve lived this,” said Travolta. In 1992, he was flying a plane over Washington DC with his family onboard when the electrical systems failed and he was forced to carry out an emergency landing at Washington National Airport. “I had two good engines but no instruments, no electric, nothing and I thought it was over,” he said.
