Continuity mistake: Just before Kate asks Rabb if he was a pilot she starts to take a drink from her cup. The shot changes she starts to take a drink again. (00:38:30)
Continuity mistake: When Rabb & Kate arrive on the Seahawk, they are not wearing the proper life-vests, etc.
Continuity mistake: Throughout the episode, Harm is referred to as "Lieutenant Commander", and wears the respective insignia. But he's still a lieutenant at this point; he isn't promoted for another three episodes. This occurred due to several season 1 episodes being aired in the wrong order, with the DVDs going by the same broadcast order.
Continuity mistake: When Captain Boone descends to engage the Hind, they are in forested mountains. It then cuts to the Hind, and there are no trees, then after the tomcat crew punch out, the RIO is hanging in the trees. The scenes that showed the Hind were cut from the movie Red Dawn.
Continuity mistake: The death of the astronaut occurring while practicing the escape in the bucket would never happen in real life. That is because when NASA conducts them in real life before a shuttle launch, the crew practices everything up to entering the bucket. NASA does not want to run the risk of their astronauts being injured during a simple practice.
Continuity mistake: The hull number on the ballcaps of the sailors on the USS Daniel Boone doesn't match the hull number of the ship used to portray it. The hull number on the caps, DDG-72, is currently assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class Destroyer, USS Mahan.
Chosen answer: When landing on an aircraft carrier, a pilot "calls the ball" by confirming to the landing signal officer (LSO) that they have the carrier, and more specifically its landing guidance systems in sight. Carriers use a Fresnel lens system which is a light only visible at a certain angle, so if a pilot sees the "ball" they are at the correct altitude and glide slope for landing.
Sierra1 ★