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Pete Sandich and Al Yackey are tanker pilots who fight forest fires. In the air over a raging fire, Pete, an expert but daredevil flier, angers Dorinda, the dispatcher who is also in love with him. When Dorinda orders Pete to return to the air attack base and re-fuel, Pete refuses, pushing his luck by dropping another load of flame retardant on the fire. Pete later glides his plane to a landing with no fuel left. Meanwhile, on the runway, Ted Baker, a delivery pilot, presents Dorinda with a birthday present from Pete. Pushing Ted out of the way, Dorinda ignores her present as she boards a plane and recklessly takes off. Dorinda’s shaky flying causes Pete to worry, and she accomplishes her goal of repaying him for his previous stunt. Later, at a party, Pete re-delivers Dorinda’s birthday gift. She rejects the present until he throws it and the box bursts open to reveal a dress and high heels. As Dorinda goes to change, Al reprimands Pete for being a daredevil. Al believes that Pete should settle down and become an instructor at a new flight school in Flat Rock, Colorado. Pete rejects the idea and welcomes the interruption of Dorinda, dressed in her new gown. Dorinda tells Pete that she loves him and begs him to tell her the same, but he makes a toast instead. Pete and Dorinda dance to their song, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes,” while Ted, the delivery pilot, watches. That night, Dorinda awakens to see Pete eerily bathed in the blue light of the refrigerator. Suddenly alert, Dorinda proposes that she also become a tanker pilot so that they can take turns flying, but Pete tells her no. Dorinda responds with an ultimatum, commanding Pete to take the flight instructor job or she will leave. Dorinda insists, “your number is up,” and details her constant agony over his well-being. Pete finally agrees to go to Flat Rock, but he receives a call moments later that another fire has broken out. Before Pete takes off, Dorinda meets him at his plane for a passionate goodbye. Pete calls after Dorinda that he loves her, but she cannot hear him. Flying through the flames, Al clips a tree with his wing and his engine catches fire. Al tries to extinguish it to no avail. Pete dives down to catch up with Al’s plane and drops flame retardant on top of it, putting out the fire. Momentarily relieved, Al realizes that Pete’s plane has dipped low into the blaze. Pete manages to pull out and level off with Al, smiling at his friend before he realizes his own engine has caught fire. Pete makes a funny face, resigned, as his plane explodes. At the base, Al joins Dorinda, and they hold hands but do not speak. Later, Pete walks through a smoking forest and comes upon Hap, an older woman clad in white. Hap informs Pete that he is dead, and though it seems like a day, six months have gone by. Hap and Pete walk through a field where he spots the first plane he flew and recalls how natural it felt. Hap explains that young Pete had a spirit mentor on his first flight, and now Pete must mentor another pilot in the same way. Pete asks how he will be able to do this, and Hap assures him that people will be able to hear Pete as if they are hearing their own thoughts. Suddenly Pete is in Flat Rock where he recognizes his mentee, Ted, the pilot who delivered Dorinda’s birthday present. Ted lands his plane at the Air Attack Training Base, and Rachel, a mechanic, directs Ted to the back office. Pete, invisible to those around him, finds that Al has taken the job that was supposed to be Pete’s, as Al questions Ted about his background. Pete enjoys his newly found abilities, encouraging Al to wipe his face when his hands are covered in grease. Al assumes Ted is toying with him, but Pete plants the idea in Al’s head to give Ted a chance. Later, from a hillside, Al watches trainees practice. Pete mischievously guides Ted to drop his flame retardant over Al instead of the fire target. In response, Al orders Ted off the base. Later, at the local bar, Pete coaxes Ted to flirt with Rachel, but, instead, Ted confesses to her that he fell in love with a girl he met last summer and that’s why he came to Flat Rock. Al flies to San Diego to check out a plane and hears Dorinda on the dispatch. Al discovers that Dorinda is in San Diego working a temporary job, and he visits with her later at her apartment. There, Al realizes Dorinda is depressed and continues to mourn Pete’s death. Because he wants to help her move on, Al packs Dorinda’s bags for Flat Rock. The next day, having been ordered away by Al, Ted leaves Flat Rock, but he grounds his plane in a storm soon after. Ted exits the plane to explore a ramshackle building and, inside, finds a ranting hobo who can hear Pete. Though the hobo repeats most of what Pete says, he picks and chooses words, altering Pete’s pep talk to become an insistent message to Ted that Dorinda is his true love and he must go back for her. Determined to try again, Ted returns to Flat Rock the next day. On the runway, the tow vehicle used to lead planes to the hangar has run away from Rachel. Unmanned, the vehicle, displaying a “Follow Me” sign, leads Ted off the base and into the front yard of Dorinda’s newly rented home. After assessing the damage from her porch, Dorinda goes inside and calls in a complaint to Al. Pete finds Dorinda there and confirms that she can hear him in her thoughts by encouraging her to brush her hair back. Ted comes and interrupts Pete’s sentimental speech. Ted informs Dorinda that she is the reason he has come to Flat Rock. Al shows up to reprimand Ted but stops when he sees Dorinda is charmed by Ted’s laugh, which sounds, to her, exactly like Pete’s. Describing Ted as a promising student, Al encourages the potential romance. Leaving the house, Pete whispers to Dorinda that she is still his girl. At a subsequent flight exercise, Pete helps Ted hit his targets. Later, upon Al’s suggestion, Ted drives Dorinda into town for supplies. Ahead of them on the road, a school bus swerves wildly then stops. The bus driver staggers into the street and collapses, and Ted administers CPR. The driver’s ghost briefly meets Pete before Ted brings him back to life. Dorinda observes Ted, impressed. Later, Dorinda has Ted over for a romantic dinner but nervously regales him with stories about Pete. After dinner, they dance and kiss; however, Dorinda ends the date abruptly when “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” is played. Afterwards, Dorinda changes into the dress Pete bought her and dances, with Pete, although she cannot see him. That night, Pete watches Dorinda sleep, then wakes up in a meadow with Hap who tells him that he needs to set Dorinda free. Later, Ted fights a forest fire while Dorinda dispatches. After Ted lands his plane, low on fuel, Al tells Dorinda that Ted is the best flier he has seen since Pete. The fire continues into the night, and Pete convinces an exhausted Ted to answer the next call for help himself. After Al phones Dorinda to tell her of Ted’s plans, Dorinda rushes back to the base where she steals Ted’s plane before he can take off. Al panics and orders her back, but Dorinda removes her headphones. Pete tries to stop Dorinda but relents once she takes off. Pete helps her perform two dangerous drops, and the second one saves a group of trapped firefighters. After Dorinda pulls out, Pete tells her he loves her, and promises she will be happy. The plane begins to lose pressure, and Dorinda crash-lands onto the river. The plane sinks with Dorinda trapped inside. When the plane fills with water, Pete pulls Dorinda out and saves her. Pete accompanies her back to the base, where, soaked, Dorinda embraces Ted on the runway. Having completed his mission, Pete’s spirit walks off into the night.

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