In this episode, Johnny Cash's Tommy Brown is both an arrogant and a sympathetic figure to behold, and Cash plays it almost perfectly. As is known by now, he executes an original plot to murder his wife and his one-time romantic fling, who just happened to be underage when Brown had an affair with her a few years back. Turns out his current wife, played both annoyingly and convincingly by Ida Lupino, is using this as leverage against him, as he can be sent back to prison. This is his motive to kill the 2 by plane, of which he's the pilot. Is this plot a little far-fetched? Probably. Certain loose ends have Columbo thinking this was more than just pilot error, so his scenes with Cash are both humorous and interesting, and they both have good chemistry with each other. There are many funny moments including scenes with a seamstress, an undertaker, and an older military general, but Johnny Cash shines as the murderer.
Lastly, the only moment in this episode which I didn't totally believe is the conclusion, when Brown admits that the guilt was getting to him, and that he was going to confess eventually. He was too arrogant for me to agree with this; otherwise, this is a solid episode of the legendary Columbo series.