Corrected entry: Towards the end of the film when the President has been told to change course to get out of hostile territory, a man named Bob says 'look above the central control column and you will see a set of LED numbers', the lights shown are not illuminated by LED's (Light Emitting Diodes) but rather a Digital Light Emitting Display Unit, which have now become the standard indicational lights for the heading control panel in all modern aircraft. [Artistic license so the audience wouldn't get confused.]
Corrected entry: When the F-15 flies in front of the oncoming missile, this would be an almost impossible maneuver. The planes would be traveling at around 500 knots, and the missile would probably be traveling at around 2000 knots. The timing would have to be precise, not to mention being able to spot the missile, change course, set up the approach, and stop a 40,000 lb fighter on a dime (considering all this would have to happen in approximately 10 seconds or less). Almost every AAM (air to air missile) has a blast fragmentation warhead, so this would still do massive damage to AF1, more so than what occurred in the film, even while having an F-15 in the path of it.
Correction: The missile vector is a simple tail chase. Since they were in full air-air intercept mode, it would be likely the F15s were high supersonic. The Eagle only has to swing up between the MiG and AF1 to snatch the missile. The way it was shown getting hit in the backbone is a bit unrealistic - but an F-15 in full afterburner with maximum surface area angled toward the missile makes a much more visible and inviting target than AF1. And AAM blast warheads are very short range critters.
Corrected entry: In the scene where the special forces guys enter the presidential palace in Kazakstan, they go to turn off the electricity. However, the electricity goes off before they throw the switch.
Correction: The special forces guy pulls two main electric switches. The first switch is hard to see but he pulls the first and some of the lights go out then he pulls the second switch and everything goes out.
Corrected entry: When the terrorist shoot into the 3 bathroom doors (they think Harrison Ford is in one of them), the bullet holes aren't aligned with the shots in the doors after they open the doors.
Correction: When facing the door, as the terrorist fires, the trajectory of every individual bullet distinctively differs, so when each bullet goes through the door it ends up in a different position on the wall inside.
Corrected entry: Once Harrison Ford gets his gun, he never reloads. He must fire about 300 rounds from a 30 round clip.
Correction: In reality, Harrison Ford only fires about twenty rounds. Just because you don't see him reload does not mean he doesn't do it. Then during the final shootout, he grabs another gun.
Corrected entry: Air Force One's armory has H&K MP5's which the terrorists hand out. Problem is, the Secret Service only uses UZI's.
Correction: From the official website of the Secret Service: What types of weapons do agents carry? Secret Service agents and officers carry the Sig Sauer P229, 357 caliber pistol. They also are trained on the Remington Model 870 shotgun, the Uzi submachine gun, and the "MP5 automatic weapon". http://www.secretservice.gov/kids_faq.shtml#13.
CAT Agents also carried M4's when this movie was made in 1997 before the switch to SR 16's around 2006.
Corrected entry: In the opening scene, as the assault team is dropping in on the palace, a laser pointer targets the forehead of an enemy sentry. However, when the sentry is neutralized he is shot in the shoulder and the exit wound is in the front, as if shot from behind.
Correction: There are three people shot in this scene. The laser pointer is aimed at the back of the first man's head. He is shot in the the head (back to front). The second man is shot in the right side of his chest. We don't see for sure where the third man is shot.
Corrected entry: In the scene where the President is relaxing with his family, his daughter comes to kiss him goodnight and she is dressed in a nightgown. After the plane is taken over and the hostages have been rounded up, she is fully dressed in jeans, a sweater and a flannel shirt. Later, after she and her mother have been identified by the terrorists, we see alternating scenes with and without the flannel shirt.
Correction: When the President's daughter first comes in to see him, she is actually dressed in a red jacket, a matching red skirt, and a light pink shirt. The next time we see her, she has removed the jacket, but she is still wearing the pink shirt and has a pink blanket over her lap. After a passage of time, she is dressed in the jeans and flannel shirt (which means she probably changed out of her dress clothes into something more comfortable).
Corrected entry: When Air Force One is first attacked by US jet planes, the terrorist pilot states that he can't move the control column at all, because the onboard computer has stuck it, and he can't do anything about it. Later on, when the plane is again attacked, (this time by planes coming from Kazakhstan), Harrison Ford can steer the plane freely. Was the onboard computer turned off this time?
Correction: The President just asked the Colonel who's helping him fly how to disengage the auto-pilot.
Corrected entry: When press liason Melanie Mitchell is brought up to the communications deck for execution she is wearing black nylons. When her corpse is carried out several minutes later her legs are skin tone. (01:07:29)
Correction: She has the skin tone coloured nylons on the whole time, she is just standing in shadows, but as she walks forward, you can see they are still skin toned.
Corrected entry: When you see the secret service agents put the president in the escape pod, you can see that the door does not shut properly but when they shift to the last of the two agents shooting against the terrorists and then shift back you see that the door is fully shut.
Correction: This mistake is explained earlier. The door is shut before the pod is jettisoned because the president gets out of the pod and closes the door tightly so not to alert the agent to secure the door and look inside and find the president is no longer in the pod.
Corrected entry: During the takeover scene as the last two surviving Secret Service agents are getting the President into the escape pod the first one gets shot in the back as he's closing the door behind the President and punching in (what I assume are) the escape pod launch codes. As he's falling dead the door reopens and remains ajar as the second Secret Service agent turns around and returns fire. They cut away then cut back to the second Secret Service agent continuing to return fire and all of a sudden the door is shut and locked.
Correction: The President doesn't escape on the pod. It's not shown, but the viewer has to assume that the door is closed and locked after the President leaves the pod, to remain on board. It's a diversion so that the terrorists think that he has escaped.
Corrected entry: None of the planes used as the real Air Force One have an escape pod. President Bill Clinton is said to have remarked on this detail after seeing the film at a White House screening.
Correction: That isn't strictly true, The American govt. has always denied rumours of a 5 man escape pod, supposedly in the rear of Air Force One, however, engineers have said there is one, as have many ground and service crew members.
Corrected entry: In one scene a terrorist is seen taxiing the 747 on the ground using the control column. Like most commercial jets the aircraft is 'steered' on the ground using a tiller which is to the left (or right) of each pilot. The control column is only used for take off, landing and in flight. Only excuse: The terrorist may not have known this.
Correction: It is true that there is a steering "tiller" on the left and right of the pilots. These are used for turning the plane at low taxi speeds. They give 70 degrees of turning capability. But at higher speeds (takeoff and landings) the rudder pedal steering is used. They provide 7 degrees of steering.
Corrected entry: Three parajumpers (PJ) get aboard Air Force One, but four leave. This is confirmed by a voice-over saying that PJ number 3 is aboard and that they are switching to receive mode (or something like that).
Correction: I'm pretty sure that the reason there are 4 retrivals is because PJ 1 or 2 returns for a second rescue.
Corrected entry: Toward the end of the film and after the President kills Korshunov, the film cuts to a scene in the White House. A guy runs into the room and shouts "Mr President, we have re-taken the plane." The President is on Air Force One, not in the White House.
Correction: He says "It's the President - we have re-taken the plane." He meant the President was on the phone telling them the plane was secure.
Corrected entry: In the final rescue scene, why don't the parajumpers just deliver parachutes to Air Force One, since it was already established that you could jump off the rear ramp, instead of trying the overly risky midair transfer?
Correction: Because Air Force One was over water...they would have drowned if they parachuted out...no one would have been able to pick them up out of the water in time.
Corrected entry: At the end of the film when the President etc. are being transferred from Air Force One to the other plane, why does Xander Berkeley's "inside man" character pull a gun and start threatening everybody? All the other terrorists are dead, the man they wanted to free from prison is dead, and nobody knows he was the inside man. What does he have to gain from this?
Correction: Because there is only time for one more man to escape from the plane. If Gibbs can be the last man off the plane, he can claim the William H. Macy character was the traitor, since there wouldn't be any witnesses to say otherwise.
Corrected entry: After the Navy plane has rescued the President and he is on board, the Navy pilot proclaims over his radio that he is changing his plane's call sign to "Air Force One" because the President is now on board. Only an Air Force plane with the President on board is Air Force One. (When the President is aboard a Marine helicopter, that chopper is "Marine One." The Navy pilot should have proclaimed (after rescuing the President) that his plane is now "Navy One."
Correction: They sent a USAF MC-130 (along with USAF pararescuemen). When the president is on board, he is in fact on board an Air Force plane.
Correction: Yes a factual error, but most likely a character mistake.