Athena makes a daring attempt onboard a plane in 911 Season 8, Episode 2 (Preview)

The 911 season 8 premiere took us away with a swarm of bees and an ending that spelled disaster for at least one beloved character. Now we’re waiting on episode two to find out what will happen now that Athena Grant-Nash (Angela Bassett) is in danger…again.

At this point, it should be a given that Athena needs to stay on solid ground. Alas, this will not happen since she needed to go to Arizona in order to pick up Dennis Jenkins, the man who killed her fiancé decades ago and had turned his life around before she discovered his whereabouts. Jenkins was set to testify in court in a sex trafficking case before being released from prison. 

Unfortunately, it was clear someone did not want him to testify, as someone impersonating a federal agent tried to take him into custody. So Athena had to make a quick get away with Dennis and get on a flight to Los Angeles instead of driving.

Unbeknownst to Athena, the 118 had to deal with a swarm of bees and while Buck (Oliver Stark) and crew were able to get rid of most of them, there was still a huge swarm up high in the sky. A small aircraft ended up flying into the swarm, missing the huge airplane coming straight at him. This is what will lead us to in the second episode.

Athena’s plane is the one that will end up running into the man, at least that’s how it appears in the promo. The promo begins with the passengers screaming as the plane makes contact and there is a huge hole in the side. Athena gets to the front of the plane and appears to be talking to someone on the radio, likely air traffic control.

Athena may take control of an airplane in 911 season 8, episode 2

The promo also shows Buck rushing to tell Bobby (Peter Krause), and based on the people behind them, it looks like Buck finds him at work. As Bobby questions Buck about his wife’s whereabouts, Buck tells him Athena is the one flying the plane. Bobby does not look shocked at all.

In the official synopsis, it reads:

"Athena is tasked with safely delivering a prisoner to testify on a high-profile case. Meanwhile, a light plane is hit by a swarm of bees and sent careening into a passenger plane."

This is practically pulled from the plot of Airplane 1975. In the film, a pilot managed to get into the plane to help rescue passengers. Does this mean we’re going to see help from another pilot, in particular, Buck’s boyfriend Tommy Kinard (Lou Ferrigo Jr.)? 

We have no idea what to expect, especially since the promo doesn’t show much, except for a shot of Hen Wilson (Aisha Hinds), Chimney Han (Kenny Choi), and Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) gazing at the sky looking worried. 

Knowing the show, since this is a three-part story arc, it’s likely we will see more of the passengers on the plane before anything else happens. However, 911 always does a great job making us connect with the characters they introduce, so we’re sure this will be no different!

The next new episode of 911 airs Thursday, Oct. 3 at 8/7c on ABC. You can catch up on the season 8 premiere episode on Hulu!

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