Glenn Ford stars as an Air Force colonel by the name of "Pete Moore" who has just sent a four-man crew on a flight to test some electrical equipment. As Flight 412 nears its destination they are informed by a nearby Marine Corps air base that there are three strange blips on their radar screen and Flight 412 is requested to confirm it. After confirming it the Marine Corps sends two Phantom jets to intercept these unidentified flying objects only to have them mysteriously disappear. At this point the Marine Corps air base turns control of Flight 412 over to NORAD which then diverts it to another heading and orders them to maintain radio silence until they land at an undisclosed location. Now, rather than reveal any more of the film and risk ruining it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was an interesting movie for the most part. Although it begins in a semi-documentary style which opens and closes with a narrative it doesn't really reveal anything out of the ordinary. In essence, it's slightly entertaining but not that informative or factual. All things considered I rate it as average.

Occasionally tense, but ultimately disappointing tale of a routine test mission that witnesses the disappearance of two fighter jets who are scrambled to intercept a suspected UFO. No-nonsense Colonel (Ford) and his Major (Dillman) delve into the mystery when their plane is diverted to a remote, de-commissioned air base in the desert, its crew (Soul, Lyons, Mullavey and Clay) interrogated by Special Investigations Detachment to ascertain what they actually saw, and prevent a national security breach.All the players acquit their roles with professionalism and competence - Stockwell as the burly, sunglasses wearing head interrogator casts an ominous aura, but his passive threats have no substance (the worst outcome suggested is demotion or demobbing). Familiar actors Jack Ging, Ken Kercheval, Ed Winter, Kent Smith, Morris Buchanan and Jesse Vint have supporting roles of varying proportions, and Soul in particular is dominant in his role as the airmen's fearless leader (the scene in which he stages a daring escape attempt should have been a suspense highlight, alas, it fails to ignite the fading embers).But despite the capable cast, the tele-movie is really just an introduction to the UFO phenomenon, with little actual substance or depth. A couple of tense moments during the multitude of interrogations, despite the bark, there's no bite.

This movie is an interesting premise of what might happen if military pilots were to come upon the sighting of a UFO. But other than that it is all speculation.If you want to see probably the most remarkable movie and UFO encounter of all time watch the movie titled, The UFO Incident starring James Earl Jones and Estelle Parsons. It is based on facts and the real events that happened to Betty and Barney Hill in the 60's.What is truly amazing about this film is that a planetary map that Betty Hill remembered seeing she was able to draw from memory under hypnosis. Many years later in the 1980's I believe, scientists discovered the very existence and exact configuration of those planets, which were virtually unknown until then. Don't take my word for it, look it up and see for yourself.My advice is always wear clean shorts as you never know when you might be picked up by aliens too! LOL

"The Disappearance of Flight 412" was obviously put out to try to cash in on the UFO craze of the 1970's. I remember the era well. UFO sightings were all over the place. This type of movie would have been watched and it probably garnered pretty good ratings for NBC - the network that broadcast it. In the end, it would also have left pretty much everyone who watched it disappointed. It really isn't that interesting to watch 4 guys get "debriefed," but that's basically what we do for a good part of the movie. These 4 were the crew of an Air Force plane on some sort of routine assignment. 3 strange blips come up on radar, a couple of Marine fighters are scrambled to intercept them and those planes vanish. The Air Force crew then get interrogated about it over about a 24 hour period. This really doesn't lead anywhere. The interrogation ends and the guys are released to their commanding officer, played by Glenn Ford. Ford was decent enough. He was probably the best part of a weak movie, and the entire cast seemed to take this seriously enough. It's just that there's no resolution to anything. In the end all we're left with is that there's some sort of massive government cover-up about UFOs. Honestly, I saw no point to this movie at all. 2/10