Other mistake: This comes up in other sci-fi scenarios too - the shuttle is heading down to the planet's surface through heavy cloud cover/disturbances. Everyone acknowledges it'll be a bumpy ride, and the flight down is very fast and tense, trying to keep track of escorts, etc. But there's no need for it to be a fast entry. Their ships aren't aeroplanes which have a minimum speed and have to keep moving forwards. They could just hover and lower slowly through the clouds at a safe speed.