From what I can tell, "Airplane!" was the little film that could, a small picture that made loads of money. For whatever reason, the "Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker" comedy team was not connected to the sequel; instead film non-entity Ken Finkleman was given the task of writing and directing. What he delivered was the same motion picture, with most of the original gags, though now the focus was on spoofing the Space Shuttle and science fiction movies. What kills "Airplane II" is the bad comic timing, the feeling of deja vu (most of the orginal cast reprise their old roles,) and the self-conscious chintziness. A good example of the latter is the footage used in Stryker's flashback of the experimental space shuttle crash; it's the same Boeing 747 crash test footage used as a joke in-flight movie in "Airplane!" An even better example is the film's use of the "Battlestar Galactica" theme. It's like they built this film with off the shelf parts! Watchable only if you never saw the orginal, or never read "Mad Magazine."
Review of Airplane II: The Sequel
