Factual error: The airplane shown for flight 828 is a Boeing 737-200. The max capacity for that plane is 120 passengers. Flight 828 had 191 passengers.
Factual error: Just before Ben and Cal get off the subway, the conductor announces that they are at 59th St. Columbus Circle. The F train runs along 6th Ave and does not stop at 59th St. Columbus Circle. Neither does the E train for that matter.
S.N.A.F.U. - S1-E7
Factual error: A kid comes to the police station to give Micaela a gun used in a murder. He has the gun in a paper bag in his hands. How could a kid enter the inner offices of the NYPD with a gun in his hands (albeit in a bag), and not get caught at least by metal detectors? (00:26:47)
Factual error: The Captain of Flight 828 is recreating the storm the airplane flew through in a simulator. He states that he increased speed to 300 Knots to fly through the storm. That is not accurate. If he increased the speed to 300 Knots then he was flying below 300 knots. Yet the cruising speed of a Boeing 737 is over 450 Knots. He could not have been cruising at such a slow airspeed. Even the 300 knots he increased to is slower than the plane's normal cruising speed.
Factual error: Ben and his wife are listening to the radio in Danny's truck. The station shown is WKUD. They are in Tannersville, NY and WKUD is in Edgewood, Ohio, 420 miles away. Too far for an FM station to reach. Besides, the audio is talking about news in New York City.
Factual error: A thief has stolen 75 million dollars. He runs out with two large duffel bags. All US bills weigh a single gram. This means that $1,000,000 in $100 bills - the largest bills in circulation - weigh around 10 kilograms, or a little over 22 pounds. $75 million would be 1,650 pounds. No way this could be carried in two duffel bags.
Factual error: When Saanvi reads the "paternity confirmed" test results, the child's alleles do not include the obligate/matching allele. (00:27:30)
Factual error: In a flashback scene, Dr. Saanvi Bahl is sending a voicemail to her partner on an IPhone 5S, just before Flight 828 takes off. The IPhone 5S was released in September of 2013, and Flight 828 disappeared in April of 2013 in the series. (00:01:08)
Return Trip - S2-E6
Factual error: Liver dysfunction is detected when Saanvi sees Theo has bright yellow irises. Jaundice turns the whites of the eyes a dull yellow, not the iris. (00:15:09)
Factual error: Ben asks Yale University library to loan him a medieval diary and they immediately send it to him. No library or archive in the world would loan out a unique item like this, even to another university. Usually they are not allowed to leave the premises, except under very strict conditions for a high-profile exhibition, certainly not just sent to an academic who's interested in reading them.
Factual error: The thief Michaela chases down, would actually have a very hard time getting his hands on the cold medicine supposedly used to cook meth. A law was passed in 2006 that requires all retail stores to keep these products behind the counter and in a locked case because they contain pseudoephedrine, which is used in the manufacturing of illegal drugs, i.e. meth. This episode is set in 2019, yet the thief is able to swipe the medicine from the floor display. Not possible. (00:06:20)
Factual error: Micaela was pushed off a cliff and landed on a ledge, and tells Zeke she has dislocated her shoulder. Zeke helps her get back to the top, and for the last push, she puts out both arms and Zeke pulls her to safety. Not possible. A person with a dislocated shoulder would not be able to move that arm.
Factual error: Escorting Saanvi and her colleague to see Dr. Cooper, NSA Agent Tim Powell flashes a gold badge and shouts "NSA" to the officers. NSA agents carry ID Badges, but not gold shields. Further, they would never identify themselves as NSA personnel to outsiders.
Answer: Only superficially. Manifest doesn't even begin with a plane crash, but rather a plane disappearing for 5 years with the assumption that it crashed, which turns out not to be true.
BaconIsMyBFF
In the particulars it seems different, but the overall plot is the same. A seemingly random group on an airplane experience a weird event and spend years trying to figure out what happened. Let's hope the reveal in the final episode is not as disappointing as "LOST" - they're actually all dead.