♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, air scares. from a passenger attack on a cross-country flight -- >> i'm taking over this plane! >> to smoke in the cabin. >> evacuate, evacuate! >> extreme turbulence and clipped wings. just how safe are the skies? >> on any given day, 45,000 flights in the u.s. we've gone 14 years without fatal commercial passenger accident. >> the wisdom from one pilot who pulled off a miracle. >> we make it look easy but it's not, it's hard. it requires diligence and dedication. adam lambert. a breakout "american idol" star with "bohemian rhapsody."

more than a decade ago. now holding out for a hero, a new album of reimagined hits. his trail-blazing path and message for his younger self. >> what do you want them to know that you didn't or 12? and holi hai. millions of feeling the love at the hindu festival of colors. y with new febreze air mist. febreze's new, finer mist floats longer in the air to fight even your toughest odors. so long stinky smells and hello amazing freshness. discover the new febreze scents today! just between us, you know what's better than mopping? anything! ugh. well, i switched to swiffer wetjet, and it's awesome. it's an all-in-one, that absorbs dirt and grime deep inside. and it helps prevent streaks and haze. wetjet is so worth it. love it, or your money back.

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good evening. thank you for joining us. it's been a bumpy stretch for air travel. everything from unruly passengers to alarmingly close calls. earlier today, lawmakers demanded answers from the acting faa administrator. how safe are we when we step on a plane? here's abc's transportation correspondent gio benitez. >> i'm taking over this plane! >> reporter: this is the moment a routine flight turned terrifying. >> i will kill every man on this plane! >> reporter: united flight 2609, los angeles to boston -- >> it's going to be a bloodbath. >> reporter: authorities say a passenger tried to open an emergency exit. soon after, the suspect is seen rushing down the aisle, holding this metal spoon which investigators say he turned into a weapon while in the bathroom. in another incident on monday, a brawl breaking out between two men on a southwest flight before it took off from dallas to

phoenix. other passengers attempting to separate them. one of the men trying to explain. >> he approached me aggressively with my family. te tell them what happened. >> reporter: both men were removed from the plane. these incidents and more the latest in a string of alarming events in the skies leaving some passengers anxious, fearing for their safety. >> i think that the average american is probably wondering, what is going on? at least six close calls here. does the faa have a grasp on the situation? >> the faa absolutely has a grasp on the situation, and it's something that we look at every day. i can tell you that the system is strong, safe, and resilient. we operate the most complex air space system in the world. >> we are here today -- >> reporter: while the top job at faa has been vacant almost a year, today in d.c. the acting faa administrator addressing these concerns before congress. >> we've gone 14 years without fatal commercial passenger accident. >> knock-on wood? >> knock on wood, knock-on

steel. we don't take it for granted. >> reporter: flying remains incredibly safe. still, recent incidents have touched nerve. this southwest flight to florida, the cabin filling with smoke and panic. >> evacuate, evacuate! >> reporter: passengers evacuating after a bird strike. extreme turbulence terrifying passengers. >> in a moment you kind of think, please, god, just let me get out of this. >> reporter: this lufthansa flight dropping 1,000 feet during dinner service, sending objects flying and a flight attendant reportedly hitting the ceiling. susan zimmerman was on the flight. >> i'm five months pregnant. i was honestly thinking, i'm never going to meet my daughter. >> reporter: on the ground, at least two recent instances of planes bumping into each other. earlier this week at logan airport, two united planes clipped wings as one was pushing back from a gate. in february, this plane's wing clipped on the tarmac at newark airport. >> all of a sudden i hear and

feel a jolt. >> reporter: a number of near-misses. jfk airport, a delta plane coming within seconds of crashing into an american airlines plane that was crossing the wrong runway. in florida, air traffic controllers cleared an american airlines flight to land on the same runway an air canada flight was taking off. the planes were close to 3,100 feet from each other when the american flight began its climb out. also last month, a frightening close call after a lear jet took off without clearance from the tower. as a jet blue plane was preparing to land on an intersecting runway. investigators say the jet blue pilot took evasive action as the lear jet crossed that runway. all this and more putting a renewed spotlight on aviation safety. >> what we are actually doing is pushing a tube filled with people through the upper atmosphere seven or eight miles

above the earth. we make it look easy, but it's not, it's hard. it requires diligence and dedication to ensure that best practices are adhered to on every hour of every flight, every day, every week, every month, every year, for decades-long careers. >> let's talk about the close calls we've been seeing. does that concern you when you see at least six close calls so close to each other, right? just within months' time. >> the same issue is happening when they're working pilots to the highest number of hours that they can possibly work them to. the entire system that is been stretched thin because the government has not consistently funded all of these programs, and the airlines that are private employers have cut costs wherever they can. >> reporter: sarah nelson is the president of the association of flight attendants and has been a united flight attendant for over 25 years. the number of reported incidents with unruly passengers have

dropped by about 80% since record highs in early 2021, but violent incidents have been steady. >> a bloodbath! >> reporter: flight attendants are still on the front lines of any mid-air emergency. >> in the air there's no way to call for help, there's no way to pull over, there's no way to run away, there's nowhere to go. and there's fewer of us on the plane than ever before. so i'm angry. >> why does it make you so emotional? >> every day when flight attendants come to work, we're not only reminded that we're aviation's first responders, but we're also aviation's last line of defense. >> i'm taking over this plane! >> reporter: the suspect to that flight from los angeles to boston, francisco torres, allegedly attempting to stab a crew member in the neck three times with a spoon. but thankfully only hitting the shirt collar and tie. >> the person is detained. attempted opening of an external door, emergency door. >> reporter: according to

witnesses, about five people jumped and tackled the suspect, saying they pulled the broken spoon out of his hand. the group of passengers and flight attendants holding him down, using zip ties to restrain him. fbi agents boarding the plane as soon as it landed, taking torres into custody. united airlines thanking the quick action of crew and customers, adding, "no serious injuries were reported." >> someone who threatens the safety and security of passengers on an airplane has forfeited their privilege to fly and should be banned from flying. >> reporter: with so much recent turmoil in the skies, proper training of the crew and pilots now more important than ever. what are those tools that we need? >> flight attendants need to have enough restraining devices on board. they need to have enough staffing to be able to respond to these issues, identify them early enough to try and contain them. we need to have that mandatoryee trning so thate quickly, so th

trained in how to have that memory response. >> reporter: captain sully sullenberger says his decades of training helped avert disaster. >> i just saw a big splash, the plane just bounced over the water. >> reporter: he and first officer jeff skils had 208 seconds to execute an emergency landing in the hudson river after a bird strike. >> you would have thought jeff and i had been working together like that for years, but in fact, we'd only known each other three days. we had to be interchangeable. we had a combined 50 years, half a century, of airline experience. so we were extraordinarily experienced that day. >> reporter: all 150 passengers and 5 crew members survived. >> got to give it to the pilot, man. a hell of a landing. >> reporter: now captain sellen berger is pushing to ensure every pilot has the crucial training to handle almost any emergency. >> pilots have an awesome

responsibility to keep their passengers and crew safe. i am reminding everyone involved, faa, airlines, pilots, flight attendants, others -- that we must not be complacent. as safe as air travel has become, we must keep on working even harder to try to make it safer. >> do you feel safe in the skies? >> well, i love flying. and i know that we have built the safest mode of transportation in the world. but i also know that we've stretched this to the limit. >> our thanks to gio. up next, adam lambert on his new album and his reflections on getting older in the music industry. ♪ things i once enjoyed just keep me employed now ♪

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♪ adam lambert has a style all his own, even when he's singing someone else's song. that talent was on full display in his new album. he has a lot to say about what's changed in the industry since he first took the "american idol" stage. adam lambert, welcome to "nightline." >> thank you for having me. >> we are honored to have you on the show. we want to talk about your new album, "high drama." i listened to all of it last night. it spoke to me. it's really beautiful work. >> thank you.

>> this collection of modern-day classics, i call it, that you reimagine in the only way that you know how. why did you choose to do this album this way? >> the idea came up to do this cover album and i thought, what a nice challenge to be able to take songs that -- most of which people know. there's a couple of obscure ones as well. really figure out a way to bring them into my reality, you know. obviously i picked songs where the storytelling were things i could relate to from my own life. on a sonic level, taking them and trying to rework them -- i had so much fun in the studio putting it together. i definitely think that the cher performance that i did at the kennedy center honors, where i took "believe," her hit from the late '90s, and turned it into a ballad. i think that got such a lovely response from people that that was another thing that inspired the project. >> let's take a look and listen to one of the new tracks, "holding out for a hero." ♪ late at night i toss and i turn and i dream of what i need ♪

♪ i need a hero i'm holding out for a hero through the end of the night ♪ >> what led you to people like bonnie tyler and others like pink and billie eilish? >> i'm always drawn to artists that are individuals, that kind of march to the beat of their own drum. those people were the first on my list to look at their catalog. with billie, interestingly enough, i avoided one of her big hits because i discovered her song, "getting older." it's such an amazing lyric that totally nails the feeling of growing up no matter how how old you are, in universal reflection on what it's like to grow up and leave certain things behind. >> now, you're having a wonderful career. for the past few years you've toured as the lead singer of queen. what's that been like? >> i mean, what a treat. i performed "bohemian rhapsody" on the "american idol" audition. i'm glad i picked that song, because i worked out well.

think saw it, they were invited to perform on the finale with me. ryan, m may and roger taylor. and the rest is history. >> in 2012 your album, "tres "trespassing," became the first album to reach number one in both the u.s. and canada by an openly gay artist. how have you seen queer representation evolve in your industry, and where do you think it goes next? >> it's come a long way. when i got on to the music scene after "american idol," it was like flying blind, a bit. >> right. >> i do feel like i was part of a wave of people at that point, in 2009, that were really pushing things forward. so in the past 13 years since my first time out on the scene, all of a sudden you're seeing more and more artists that are representing the queer umbrella. and i think it's a beautiful thing. i think people really want to see themselves reflected in what

they listen to, what they watch. that's why we do what we do is to connect with our audience. queer artists appeal to everybody. they don't necessarily only appeal to queer audiences. and that kind of cross-over thing i think has been a big turning point. >> sure. >> you look at lil nas x, who's killing it, amazing. sam smith, amazing. kim petras. there's a whole list of artists now on the scene, so it's exciting. >> you've talked about in the past how during that difficult stretch, you got there with the support of family and friends. do young artists or emerging artists reach out to you now? >> i have a foundation, the feel something foundation, i started a couple of years ago. we partnered with music cares, which is the charity associated with the grammys. and they do a lot of amazing outreach things. what i asked them to do is help me host a brunch for queer people in music. not only artists but a lot of songwriters are also identifying

as queer, and producers. when i first started, even behind the scenes there weren't a lot of queer people in music. because that's changed so much, i'm actually working towards building a program where queer artists can network with each other and sort of air grievances and support each other. >> what else can we expect in years to come? >> i am busy, let me tell you. for me, it's all about projects. creative projects. and i just was in a film called "fa "fairyland" that premiered at sundance, produced by sofia coppola. that was amazing. i'm voicing an animated series for dreamworks that comes out next year. i'm making more music. i'm writing a musical. >> really? >> which i've been working on since the beginning of the pandemic. >> say more. >> i'm not ready to give away what it's about yet, but it takes place in the '70s, based on a true story. it takes place in new york city. and it's very rock 'n' roll,

glam, queer, all the things that i hold near and dear to my heart. >> what would you want the 10-year-old version of you to think, to feel, when they see your success, see you? what do you want them to know that you didn't know when you were 10 or 12? >> i think if i wanted to talk to a younger version of myself i would probably shoot for a little older. i'd probably want to talk to 17-year-old adam. that was a more tricky kind of confusing time for me. you know. it was the '90s. i was closeted, dealing with that, coming to terms with my identity. i think i would tell myself at that age, "it's all going to work out." i would also tell myself, "you'll be surprised at the possibilities you don't think are possible right now." >> adam lambert, thank you again for coming to "nightline." it's so nice to meet you and talk with you. we wish you continued grace and safe travels. >> thank you so much, i appreciate it. >> nice young man. up next, the love, laughter, and joy as millions celebrate

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♪ finally tonight, millions coming together to let their colors show. here's "nightline's" ashan singh. ♪ >> reporter: a day of unlimited fun for millions celebrating holi, the hindu festival of colors marking the start of spring, new beginnings, and good triumphing over evil. the holiday most popular in and around india.

but many finding ways to keep the festival spirit alive here in the u.s. ♪ this band embarking on their annual "festival of colors" tour. >> the idea was, let's have this color kind of presenting itself through the different sounds of the diaspora. when people think about indian music, they think of bollywood and that's it. there's so much more. >> reporter: he founded the brooklyn-based group in 2008, blending modern and traditional music to create an electrifying sound. >> everyone in the band is bringing their own southeast asian perspective. >> reporter: in buffalo, creating holy products and inspiring the younger generation. >> in 2017, i had my first child. i'm like, how am i going to show my kid where i come from? >> reporter: holi is about

coming together, which is why moments like these are what she holds most dear. >> oh! we're getting color everywhere! >> reporter: what's the mean to you? >> he's owning it. he's owning his heritage, he's owning his culture. this is a moment of pride for me. i'm seeing in front of my eyes that there is this next generation which wants to just celebrate and enjoy. >> color, culture, family, what's not to like? our thanks to ashen. that's "nightline" for this evening. see you back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night.