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Air America

In late 1969, helicopter pilot Billy Covington has his pilot's license suspended for breaking safety regulations. His skills, bravery and disregard for the law are noticed by a government agent, who offers him a job in Laos working for the "strictly civilian" company Air America, which turns out to be a front for CIA operations.

In Laos, he is introduced to Air America's unorthodox pilots and aircraft, being taken under the wing of pilot Gene Ryack, who uses official flights to buy black market weapons for his private cache.

Senator Davenport arrives to investigate rumors that Air America is transporting drugs for Laotian forces. Major Lemond and Rob Diehl, CIA leaders of Air America, show the Senator around Laos to prevent him discovering that the rumors are true. Unfortunately, Davenport loses great respect from General Soong during their first meeting at the airport when mistaking him to be a local luggage-carrying valet. Soong holds this over Davenport's head for the remainder of his visit.

While airdropping livestock in their C-123 cargo aircraft, Billy and Jack Neely are shot down, but Billy manages to crash-land the C-123 at a former World War II Japanese airstrip. The Pilatus PC-6 of General Soong arrives at the crash site and his soldiers load up with the opium from the crashed plane, but intentionally leave Billy and Jack behind while local Communist forces are moving in. Gene and another pilot rescue them; Billy boards Gene's helicopter.

Billy and Gene are shot down after a short time in the air and captured by a tribe. Gene strikes a deal to supply them with better weapons. At Gene's house, Billy is surprised to discover that Gene has a wife and children. Disillusioned with U.S. actions in Laos, Gene convinces Billy to quit his job, but Billy wants to get even with General Soong.

Davenport is losing patience and demands to know who is smuggling heroin. Learning that Jack has been killed, Lemond and Diehl claim he was the ring leader behind the drug trafficking. Billy blows up the heroin factory, but guards see him running away. Davenport demands more concrete evidence.

Gene finds a buyer for his arsenal, allowing him to quit Air America and take his family out of Laos. Billy accepts one more flight, taking flour to a refugee camp when he is instructed to divert for "routine inspection." Suspecting a setup, Billy inspects the cargo and finds heroin. He crash-lands on the same airstrip where he crashed earlier and uses the wreckage of the previous crash to hide the aircraft.

Davenport recognizes the nature of the setup and threatens to reveal Lemond and Diehl's operation to Washington. Major Lemond in return silences Senator Davenport by daring him to say what he thinks he saw in Laos but reveals that his own political connections involving a friendship with the President would only ruin Davenport's political career.

Gene, on his way to make his final weapons delivery, rescues Billy. They respond to a distress call from a refugee camp caught in crossfire. The official in charge of the camp refuses to leave without the refugees. Gene reluctantly dumps the weapons to make room for the refugees, with much pressure from Billy, and blows up their cache to cover the escape.

In the air, Gene and Billy hatch a scheme to sell the aircraft to recoup Gene's money. In the postscript of the closing credits, it is revealed that General Soong makes it to America eventually and gets his dream of owning and operating a Holiday Inn, that Gene wins a lottery in Thailand in 1975, and that Billy is deported from Thailand for fixing the same lottery in order for Gene to win.