Factual error: In the scene where the Warriors are hiding from the Turnbull A.C.'s under the elevated subway they look up at the train that is approaching the station. The train is marked as a "J" train. At that point they are still in the Bronx. The "J" train never runs in the Bronx.
Factual error: Although it's already been mentioned that the scene of the shuttle being stolen from the back of the 747 is impossible because the shuttle wouldn't be fueled while being transported, it should also be noted that even if the shuttle was fueled, it would still be just as impossible. During the getaway, the thieves ignited the shuttle's three main engines to get free of the 747 and escape. The thing is, the shuttle's main engines are fueled entirely by the large external tank the shuttle and the solid fuel boosters are attached to during liftoff, and once the tank is jettisoned, these engines cannot be used. The only engines the shuttle's internal fuel feeds are the reaction control thrusters and the Orbital Maneuvering System (which are the two smaller engines located in the bulges just above the main engines). Both the RCS thrusters and OMS engines are almost totally useless within the atmosphere, so even if the thieves managed to get the shuttle free of the 747, they could only get it as far as it would glide unpowered. In fact, they could probably get it further if it wasn't fueled. It should be noted that this is not a fictional, futuristic spacecraft. It's a bog standard shuttle, stolen from NASA, on the back of the modified 747 used by them to transport the orbiter from its landing site to Cape Canaveral.
Factual error: In the opening scene that shows San Francisco scenery there is a shot of a large TV tower called Sutro Tower. The film takes place in 1960 and Sutro Tower wasn't built until 1973.
Factual error: In the PALOMINO scenes, Anthony Perkins wears a long lab coat. In most of the scenes, it hangs straight down; but in the low gravity aboard the ship it should be flattering about (that's why such loose garments are not worn by real-life cosmonauts; they would be a hindrance).
Factual error: The lid Halloran removes before the jump out of the plane is much too small. They wouldn't have made it through the opening with their parachutes strapped on. (01:05:45)
Factual error: Captain Willard recalls back to lunch at General Corman's and we hear Harrison Ford's voice say as he points to a map, "Now he's crossed into Cambodia". The town he's pointing at (Ban Me Thout) and the one above it are in the Central Highlands in the middle of Vietnam and not crossover points anywhere near Cambodia. (01:18:20)
Factual error: During the period in which Apollo is trying to bait Rocky into a rematch, Rocky puts the TV on and sees a sports report in which Brent Musburger announces that the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a late field goal by Frank Corral. The movie takes late 1976-ish. The Rams did not play the Buccaneers in 1976, and Frank Corral did not join the Rams until 1978. The game in question occurred during the 1978 season.
Factual error: The African American gang the Del Bombers are all wearing Afros. This is 1963 and it would be another 3 years before you would even see these on Black leaders like Eldridge Cleaver and Stokely Carmichael. The only way kinky curly hair was worn back then was very short...later known as a Caeser. Worn any longer would have usually been processed. Some members of the same gang are also wearing open African shirts. These were not available at all until the mid to late '60s and were not worn in the Bronx at all until the early '70s. I think whoever outfitted these guys had the Back To Africa movement confused with the Nation Of Islam which was the only Civil Rights affiliated organization, besides Dr. Martin Luther King's, around at the time and that they wouldn't have belonged to anyway.