In Bullitt (1968), Frank Bullitt tracks the real killer to San Francisco International Airport, where the suspect tries to escape on a plane. Bullitt chases him through the terminal and onto the runway, and the film ends with Bullitt killing him after a tense gunfight.

The ending is intentionally a bit bittersweet rather than neatly triumphant: Bullitt solves the case, but the violence leaves a grim, unfinished feeling.