Visible crew/equipment: When Burnett cuts away from his parachute and falls to the ground from the tree, you can see the crash pad he lands on. (00:24:25)
Revealing mistake: When Chris Burnett runs out in front of the pickup truck to get a ride, the pickup skids to a stop - you can see a person sitting in the bed of the truck and he does not get even slightly startled by the truck's sudden stopping. (01:02:55)
Continuity mistake: After Stackhouse and Brunett has been shot down, we see the front part of the plane land and the inscription "Made in U.S.A" is writing on the right front of the plane. That wasn't there earlier. (00:22:10)
Visible crew/equipment: When Burnett haves a sip from the Coke a boom mike is reflected in the bottle when he lowers it. (01:04:40)
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: 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)
Continuity mistake: Owen Wilson is carrying an AK47 with a wooden full stock when going to start the beacon on the ejection seat. When he is retrieving the film from the ejection seat, his rifle has a side-folding stock metal wire stock.
Visible crew/equipment: When Burnett jumps and Glen catches him hanging in the air, Leslie shouts "Pull up. Pull up.", it cuts and the security wire attached to Burnett's right shoulder is visible. (00:32:40)
Continuity mistake: Towards the beginning of the movie when the F-18 is taking off to go on the recon mission, it shows a lot of different shots of an F-18 taking off. One of these shots is actually of an F-14.
Factual error: In the opening voiceover, the narration refers to the Cincinnati Accords, when in fact the Bosnian peace talks were held in neighbouring Ohio city Dayton, and commonly called the Dayton Peace Accords.
Deliberate mistake: The French NATO rescue team is flying an old, Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter which is not in service in France. It was probably rented in Slovakia where most of the film was shot. The Mi-17 is easily distinguished from the French multi-purpose helicopter Puma: the Mi-17's landing gear is supported by huge rods, its side windows are round, and it has a sleek boom with the tail rotor on the left side. The Puma has smaller gear support, rectangular side windows, and a thicker boom with the tail rotor on the right side. (01:15:42)
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)
Visible crew/equipment: When Burnett is running through the mine field you can see a camera right in the shot. The camera takes up half the screen, but it can only be seen in slow-mo. (The use of slow motion is permitted when crew/equipment are visible.)
Deliberate mistake: The aft cockpit of the F/A-18F is not simply a 'Navigator' as they say several times in the movie. It is the Weapons Systems Operator, or WSO (Wizzo).
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.
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: When Owen Wilson parachutes through the trees, his oxygen mask goes from being on, covering his face, to being off and dangling. This repeats when he drops from his tangled chute. When he initially cuts free, his mask is over his face, then when he gets up it is off. A pilot should keep his mask on and visor down after ejecting over land to prevent injuries to his face and eyes should he wind up in the trees like Wilson did. (00:24:40)
Factual error: Any satellite that could detect the scene where Owen Wilson is under a dead body, the satellite would be traveling so quickly it would be out of range in a handful of seconds - not minutes.
Visible crew/equipment: In several shots above Stackhouse and Burnett's plane you are able to see studio lights. (00:21:30)
Audio problem: When Burnett is running over the bridge yelling for the car his mouth doesn't move. (01:02:50)
