Atlantic Flight was designed as a vehicle for Dick Merrill, a real-life pilot then very much in the news because of his record-breaking flights. Merrill is cast as flyboy Dick Bennett, the best friend of aspiring aircraft designer Bill (Weldon Heyburn). Entering a national air meet, Dick is prevented from flying by an unscrupulous phony nobleman (Ivan Lebedeff), whereupon darn-fool-kid Bill flies his new plane himself. On cue, Bill crashes to the ground, and soon is hovering between life and death in the hospital. Only a rare miracle serum can save Bill's life, but the only supply is in London. Dick volunteers to make the round-trip flight to retrieve the serum, thereby setting yet another air record.