Factual error: Just prior to taking off from the carrier, you see clear shot of the pilot activating the "master arm switch". This arms all the weapons on board the aircraft. You would never arm your weapons until airborne. (00:02:20)
Factual error: In the opening carrier takeoff scene, someone says "OK for start" when the aircraft is already on the catapult, ready for launch. Then, there is a shot of the instrument panel showing the left engine coming up to speed. The engines have to be started to taxi the a/c into position, and they idle at about 70% RPM. (00:02:35)
Factual error: There is a short discussion about famous persons dying on plane crashes with John Denver being mentioned. The movie is set in 1996. John Denver was perfectly alive and well. He died in late 1997. (00:03:40)
Factual error: When the plane is called to shut down and abort, the crew leaves the aircraft and starts throwing the football around, but in real flight ops, a helicopter takes off first just in case an aircraft goes down. With that being said, the aircraft would have to taxi back to spot, and the helicopter would have to land. Everyone would still be in full flight deck gear. (00:04:20)
Continuity mistake: After takeoff is aborted, the crew leaves their aircraft on the catapult, still facing the bow of the ship. When Owen Wilson grabs the football and runs to the bow of the ship, in the background there is no aircraft lined up on the catapult. (00:04:30)
Audio problem: At the start a yellow jacket says to Burnett about loosing a finger. However, his mouth doesn't match what he is saying. (00:04:40)
Factual error: When the football falls in the water, the crew yells "Wilson". This is not a reference to the actor's real name but a semi-obscure reference to the ball in the movie "Cast Away". These movies were released very close together and so the likelihood that a movie-viewer would get the joke is certainly possible. However, the movie takes place in 1996, and "Cast Away" was released in 2000. (00:05:30)
Factual error: When LT Burnett and his pilot are in the galley eating you see two people doing push ups. First, the officers mess is not that big, second, officers and enlisted don't eat in the same mess on a ship, third, no one would be in flight deck gear in the galley eating, and last, no one in their right mind would sit there and allow anyone to do that, let alone officers. (00:07:50)
Other mistake: The Admiral gives Burnett a dressing down for his bar fight on Sept 23 and then a month later another complaint at a Chinese New Year party. This would mean the New Year was in October, but they are always in January or February. (00:10:00)
Continuity mistake: While speaking with the Admiral, Burnet's collar is turned up at the back of his neck. When he leaves and is talking to Stackhouse it's lowered and neat. When Stackhouse turns him round to speak to him, it's raised again. (00:11:40)
Continuity mistake: When Burnett is on the phone with his dad a man writes "Stackhouse/Burnett" on a board. Later in the close-up the handwriting has changed. (00:12:45)
Continuity mistake: When Burnett takes off, the wheels start to retract in one angle. Camera cuts and they're back out. (00:14:20)
Continuity mistake: In the launch scene of the recon mission, one camera shot is centered on the aircraft's lower fuselage as it is moving on the catapult towards and to the right of the camera. If you look closely, you will notice that there are rounded intakes on the aircraft. Those intakes are only on the regular Hornet (F/A-18A-D). The Super Hornet (F/A-18E/F) has rectangular intakes like the Tomcat. (00:14:50)
Factual error: During the Recon flight launch, one shot shows the Super Hornet taking off with a blue Sidewinder. These blue missiles are simulation Sidewinders, and as stated in the Top Gun mistakes (same missiles used), all they do when launched is drop from the aircraft. (00:14:50)
Suggested correction: AIM-9 CATM's don't fall off the aircraft.
Continuity mistake: Right after Stackhouse and Brunett has been spotted flying by the serbian soldiers and the soldier enters Lokar's office, we see Lokar resting his head in his hand while holding a cigarette. When it cuts he is no longer resting his head but he takes a lung full up smoke instead. (00:17:45)
Continuity mistake: The SAM that's used to shot down the F-18 is a BRDM-2 mounted 9K31 Strela-1 which uses either 9M31 or 9M31M IR missiles. The missiles seen flying after the F-18 aren't either of those models. (00:18:40)
Factual error: The two SAMs are shot 5 to 10 seconds apart. Yet the second SAM catches up to the first and begins to travel at the same speed. (00:18:40)
Factual error: The heat seeking missiles would not have gone after the fire ball created by the fuel tanks as shown in the movie. Heat seeking missiles don't go after just any heat. They go after specific frequencies of infrared found in jet engines. (00:20:00)
Other mistake: When Stackhouse and Burnett are being chased by the SAM, they pull to the right after deploying flares and you hear a voice on the radio say "Chaff, Chaff, Chaff". Chaff is a cartridge of small metal strips released as a countermeasure for radar guided missiles. These small strips add noise to the radar and clutters it up giving the pilot about 5 seconds to evade the missile. Throughout the scene, several indicators such as the flares and exploding fuel tanks suggest that they are fleeing from a Heat-seeking missile, not a radar guided one. To add to this, the voice on the radio wasn't that of Stackhouse or Burnett and was added for radio effect. (00:20:20)
Factual error: Fighter jets cannot dodge heat seekers head on. Missiles are simply too fast to be dodged head on by a jet due to the fact that fighter jets have to be at full throttle to stay in the air. (00:20:50)
Suggested correction: Actually they can. Head on presents less of thermal signature to the missile, as the aircraft engines are in the back. A radar guided missile could not be dodged so easily, however.
