Monk thinking that he is escorting Sharona to the airport to pick up her aunt discovers to his shock that she's the one making the flight. The choice between being on his own without Sharona or flying cross-country to New Jersey is a tough decision, but he overcomes his fears and boards the plane. After annoying the passengers and crew with his first-time-flier questions, he becomes even more unsettled after small irregularities convince him that the Frenchman sitting across the aisle has murdered his wife and the woman accompanying him may possibly be an impostor. He calls Captain Stottlemeyer only to find that it's the captain's day off but manages to persuade Lt. Disher to search the airport for a body. With help from Sharona and from the extension cord salesman in the seat next to him, Monk tries to provide the evidence Lt. Disher needs in order to make an arest. In the meantime another murder is committed on the plane while Monk is trapped in the bathroom. After monk is rescued the co-pilot refuses to believe his story and orders him back to his seat. The angry flight attendant disables the call button and destroys a piece of key evidence, but Monk still has the plane phone to call Disher, and the race is on to find the body before the guilty couple board their plane for Paris.
Monk suffers from several phobias that always seem to haunt him. From the moment he enters into the airport it is evident that his phobias and compulsiveness was going to get him into trouble. His fear of flying (aviophobia) is the lead
