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Flight of the Phoenix (2004) - 12 mistakes

Directed by John Moore, starring Dennis Quaid, Giovanni Ribisi, Hugh Laurie, Miranda Otto, Tyrese (add more)

Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller

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Factual error: Interior shots of the cargo bay of the C-119 seem way too small. The real cargo bay is about 50 feet long and seats 62 troops, or 35 stretchers. In the movie it's almost full up with 12 passengers plus about 10 feet of cargo.

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Factual error: Townes taxis the C119 far too close to the buildings next to the oil platform. The nose of the plane is almost touching the wall. The only anchoring point on a C119 for a taxiing tractor is on the nose wheel, and he hasn't left enough space for the tractor to link up and turn the aircraft without the wing (and engine) hitting the building. There are no anchoring points on a C119 that allow it to be towed backwards, even if they could steer it that way.

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Factual error: After calculating the amount of water they have available Townes and A.J. announce they will be living on "a pint of water per person per day". One problem - they'll be dead within three days, if they manage to last that long. A GALLON - eight pints - a day is the absolute minimum in conditions of dry, extreme heat such as they are experiencing, and that is for a resting male. Take their strenuous exercise into account and you can push that up to two gallons a day. One pint a day? Forget it.

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Continuity: When the C-119 is crashing it loses its rear ramp and the wind howls through the cabin. A moment later when it has crashed it is all quiet inside, despite a storm of supposedly 70 mph winds being able to blow into this gap. Next scene, the aircraft is totally buried in sand but none has entered through the wide open ramp. Next scene after that (and all subsequent ones showing the rear of the aircraft), we are again shown that the ramp is missing.

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Continuity: When the pilot is trying to make a crash landing during the sandstorm the landing gear wheels are up in one angle and down in another angle.

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Continuity: Just as the Phoenix starts to move for take-off, there is a shot showing high dunes in the plane's path. However, in the shot as they are approaching the canyon the terrain in front of the plane is relatively flat (except for the canyon), no dunes in sight; they did not pass them.

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Continuity: When everyone is getting ready to leave the oil drilling base, Dennis Quaid is standing at the rear hatchway of the plane wearing his leather jacket, the camera view changes to a view of behind him, and he's not wearing it, he's in a yellow shirt, when the view goes back to the front, he has the jacket on again.

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Factual error: In the scene where the plane is flying through the sandstorm there isn't any sand flying into the plane, even though during a sandstorm the sand can and will get into any crack it can find.

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Continuity: Moments before the C-119 crashes, we see a towering sandstorm, tens of thousands of feet high. After it crashes, Frank Towns looks out a port and says the wind is blowing 70 mph and would cut you to shreds. But during the crash several exterior shots show clear air and no sign of a storm.

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Continuity: When the Phoenix just starts to take off at the end of the movie, one of the first shots shows the ground covered in large rocks. The very next shot shows the plane moving along a smooth, pristine dirt runway.

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Visible crew/equipment: The scene following the one where Elliot was inspecting the aircraft's vertical rudder, shows a long view of the aircraft in the desert, where a shadow of a helicopter and the helicopter itself appears in the background.

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Continuity: When Captain Towns has gone looking for Liddel (he ends up at the arch where the plane first hit), he shouts "Liddel.". There is a shot of Liddel looking to the right. In the background over his left shoulder you can see two of the crosses (makeshift gravemarkers) that are back where the plane and crew are, not where they are at. The editing is a little choppy too.

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