In "Fight For Your Life", pay close attention to Andrew Peterson in the scene where Calloway enters the cockpit. One can see that he has blood on his head before Calloway starts attacking.
Occasionally, you can see a mouse cursor on the display of some instruments.
Some times the maps feature an odd mix of countries that no longer exist or have yet to get their independence at the time of the accident/incident.
Completely Different Title: In Poland the series is known as Katastrofa w przestworzach (Disaster in the sky).
The Danza: Robert Bockstael plays Captain Robert Pearson in the Gimli Glider episode.
Fake Nationality: Since the series was produced in Toronto, most of the Canadian actors play several characters of different nationalities. The same can be said for some of the Asian actors; a set of Japanese actors and actresses have been used to portray people from China and Korea, for example.
Quite a few actors appeared in other Canadian shows as well as the first English dub of Sailor Moon, including Denis Akiyama, Dave Fraser and Robert Bockstael.
While usually uncredited, a couple of the Voiceover Translation actors for the non-English interviewees hail from the Montreal acting pool, such as Arthur Holden (for Nelson Rivera in Season 2's "Lost") and Mark Camacho (for Luis Montoya in "Lost In New York", also from Season 2).
Recycled Set: The show features dozens of different air accident investigation teams working in many different countries, but they all seem to use the same handful of offices and laboratories. Most recognisable is the "office with the splitter blinds" set, which has shown up many times, sometimes dressing it up by painting the walls a different color.
Technology Marches On: Deconstructed; the show hardly hesitates to make note of the advancements made to aircraft throughout history, and this has been a factor in a number of accidents new and old. New technologies have been known to throw pilots off by preventing them from correcting a mistake, such as with Air France Flight 296Q, or presenting weird glitches that cause the plane to go haywire, such as with Qantas Flight 72 and the 737 Max 8 crashes. Some experts have made a point of maintaining balance between pilots and technology in interviews.
What Could Have Been: An episode on Air New Zealand 901 was originally slated to be aired for Season 13, however, production didn't push through for a variety of reasons according to◊ Word of Saint Paul.
You Look Familiar: Due to the series typically casting actors of the same ethnicity as (and for lead roles, typically appearance to) the individuals they are portraying for realism, it's far from uncommon to see certain actors reappear in different episodes. However sometimes this is slightly less obvious as they may play lead roles in one episode such as a captain, first officer, or lead investigator, and then more generic roles such as an unnamed controller in another episode.
The late Denis Akiyama, who played the captain of JAL Flight 123, would later go on to play the captain of Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 and the captain of Korean Airlines Flight 007.
Lesley Faulkner, who portrayed the very attractive stewardess from American Airlines Flight 4184 "Frozen in Flight", reappears as the Air Canada check in desk girl in "Explosive Evidence" who fatefully booked "M Singh"'s bag onto Air India Flight 182.
Bill Lake, who played the pilot of Northwest Airlines Flight 255, is also the pilot of United 173. He is also the lead investigator in US Airways Flight 1549 case and an FBI agent in the EgyptAir Flight 990 case.
The captain of American Airlines Flight 965 is the lead investigator in PSA 182 case, while his first officer is the captain of American Airlines Flight 96.
The captain of Birgenair Flight 301 is also the flight engineer in the DHL shootdown incident, as well as an investigator in the crash of Ethiopian Airlines 409, while his first officer is the captain of Spanair 5022 and the lead investigator in the TANS Peru 204 crash and an investigator of Lamia 2933.
Peter James Haworth plays the captain of American Airlines Flight 1420 and the lead investigator in Chalk 101 case.
Stephen Bogaert plays the first officer of American Airlines Flight 1420, the captain of the TWA aircraft in the Grand Canyon Collision episode, and the show's narrator in the Canadian broadcast.
The captain of EgyptAir 990 was the lead Indonesian investigator into Adam Air Flight 574, while the first officer was the lead investigator into Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686.
Both actors playing the pilots of TANS Peru Flight 204 played air traffic controllers handling other flights; the captain handled Birgenair 301, the first officer handled Varig Flight 254.
Stephen Sparks plays Peter Nielsen, the ill-fated ATC controller in the Uberlingen mid-air collision, as well as the captain of Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751. He also plays the military colonel that was on Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 013.
The Kazakh captain from the Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision is the lead investigator in the Aeroflot 593 crash.
The pilot of Turkish Airlines Flight 981 from 'Behind Closed Doors' was also the actor for Ramzi Yousef in the Philippine Airlines Flight 434 episode, while his first officer's actor also played the air traffic controller in the Air Inter episode.
The captain of China Airlines Flight 611 is the flight engineer of Japan Airlines Flight 123, while his first officer is the captain of Singapore Airlines Flight 006.
The captain of Santa Barbara Airlines Flight 518 was the lead investigator into Spanair 5022, while his first officer assisted the investigation of LAPA Flight 3142.
The captain of China Airlines Flight 006 is the lead investigator in the Singapore Airlines Flight 006 case, and is also a prospective customer of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 in the Mount Salak crash.
The first officer of TAM 3054 was the first officer of Lamia 2933 and the Panamanian investigator of COPA 201.
The air traffic controller handling Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 also played the first officer of Continental Airlines Flight 1713 and one of the investigators of West Air Sweden Flight 294.
The captain of Northwest Airlines Flight 85 played one of the investigators of Asiana 214 and the pilot of the Galloping Ghost, while his first officer played the American investigator in the crashes of Birgenair 301 and Lauda Air Flight 004.
The lead investigator in the Heathrow 777 crash is the ATC controller in TACA 110 episode.
The JFK tower controller in the Avianca 52 crash is later the US investigator in West Caribbean Airways 708 and the 2008 Mexico City case.
Another controller handling Avianca 52 played the lead organizer of Operation Nanook in the First Air 6560 episode.
The flight engineer in the Arrow Air 1285 episode is the tower controller in the PSA 182 case.
The actor playing Eddie Ho in Miracle Escape is the same for the First Officer in Bad Attitude, as well as the Captain piloting in Terror in San Francisco. He also plays the Medan ATC controller in the Garuda 152 episode.
The first officer of Adam Air Flight 574 reappears as the first officer for Garuda Indonesia Flight 200, and he reappears again as the captain of another Indonesian flight, Garuda Indonesia Flight 421. He later investigates Thai Airways Flight 311, the captain of whom investigated Garuda 421 and Airasia Flight 8501.
The captain of TAM 402 also played the captain of Alitalia 404.
Von Flores plays the captain of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in Season 14, the captain of Philippine Airlines Flight 434 in Season 3, and the lead investigator for TransAsia Airways Flight 235 in Season 17, China Airlines Flight 140 in Season 19, Trigana Air Flight 267 in Season 2 and Lion Air Flight 610 in Season 21.
The Aeromar Supervisor for Fine Air Flight 101 is the trainee air traffic controller that handled Independent Air Flight 1851.
The first officer of Northwest Airlines Flight 1482 is also the second investigator of Air Astana Flight 1388.
The Band
Reality Subtext: Many of the songs draw upon their own life experiences. When the band started out, they encountered resistance from their families who felt that music was not a suitable future. Other songs incorporate themes of love, break-ups, and reminiscing about the past.
◊ Word of Saint Paul.
