Other mistake: At New York ATC, the radar shows American Airlines Flight 11 disappearing over Manhattan, indicating that it has just crashed into the North Tower. This occurred at 8:46 a.m. Around a minute and a half later, Sgt. Jeremy Powell at NEADS directs the scrambling of fighter jets in search of American 11. He states that the time is "0846" (meaning 8:46) - should be 0847. (00:34:55 - 00:36:17)
Other mistake: On-board Flight 93, Mark Bingham's conversation with Tom Burnett about sports is repeated twice in two separate scenes. You can tell if you listen out for Bingham's line, "You take out all your aggression and all your, you know, all your shit for the day." The dialogue is heard in the background the first time around and then given more focus the second time. (00:46:49 - 00:55:35)
Continuity mistake: At the end, during the fight scenes in the first class cabin, the number of overhead compartment doors that are open changes.
Factual error: In an early runway scene, a billboard for the film Chicken Little (2005) can be seen in the background.
Continuity mistake: After the hijackers have taken over the plane, the blond flight attendant's hair, styled in a French Twist, keeps changing from messy (presumably from the chaos) to as smooth and neat as when she boarded the plane. She's never offscreen long enough to have simply fixed it. Not until the passengers revolt does it remain disheveled.
Continuity mistake: United 93 is cleared to depart from runway 4L at Newark. However, you can see the terminals out the right side of the aircraft, indicating that it is departing to the southwest, on runway 22R.
Deliberate mistake: After takeoff, an exterior shot of the plane switches from a Boeing 757 to an Airbus A320.
Factual error: In one of the shots when the 757 is taxiing at Newark airport, you can see in the background an airliner in the new Air Canada colours. The current Air Canada livery was introduced in 2004.
Factual error: The UPS airplane shown on the tarmac at Newark Airport is painted with UPS's new logo, which was not introduced until 2003.
Continuity mistake: During the hijack, a female passenger goes to help another one who has been stabbed in the neck, bleeding profusely. When she returns to her seat, she has no blood on her.
Continuity mistake: In the Boston ATC sequence, the radar screen shows American 11 at a flight level of 350 (35,000 ft) this alternates with a flight level of 310 between shots.
Continuity mistake: When United 93 is in the air, the terrorist in the last row of the first class cabin has his brown jacket alternately zipped/unzipped between shots.
Factual error: During the take off roll, the curtain that divides First Class and Economy class is closed. This is in breach of FAA regulations that state the curtain must be stowed for taxi, take-off and landing.
Continuity mistake: Shortly after take off from Newark the plane has changed from a Boeing 757 to an Airbus plane as evidenced by the design of the winglets.
Audio problem: When auditing the recording of one of the first hijacks, the FAA reviewer rotates the tape reels back and forth in order to find just the exact words from the hijacker. As the sounds play, the reel moves barely half a turn, but the reviewer rewinds it more than one revolution, not nearly returning to where that sound would be.
Factual error: The emergency exits on the inside of the Boeing 757 are designed for a Boeing 747 not a 757. If you look closely the doors are not armed either, which they would be on a passenger jetliner so the slides could deploy if the plane crashed.
Continuity mistake: In the beginning of the movie, when we see a hurried passenger trying to get through the security check, he takes his pocket change out of his pocket and puts it on top of the scanner. In the next shot, the money is gone and there's a purple tray instead.
Continuity mistake: Throughout the film if you look at the terrorist that wears the black polo shirt with the lines across it, the red bandanna keeps changing position, from thin and covered in hair, to thick with no hair covering.
Factual error: In a scene in New York's air traffic control tower (I think the one where they show the second plane hit the south tower of the WTC), there is a man wearing a black lanyard around his neck that says "Transportation Security Administration" on it. The TSA was formed shortly AFTER the events of 9/11 thus he should not be wearing it.
Continuity mistake: In both the exterior shots during the film and in real life, the Boeing 757-222 (N591UA) operated by United Airlines is shown to have 2 doors forward of the wing. In the interior shots, the front door is shown, but between the first class cabin and the economy class cabin, there is just a partition, no door.
Answer: At the time of the 9/11 incident, certain type utility or pocket knives like the ones the terrorists brought on board were not illegal. Airport screeners had more leeway then about what type of knives, tools, or other gadgets they allowed passengers to carry on board. Since then, the restrictions are far more stringent.
raywest ★
I can attest to this as my father traveled on aircraft with his pocket knife multiple times before 9/11. As long as it was under a few inches; it was more viewed as a tool than a threat to the aircraft.