Charles Austin Miller

Answer: It is stated very plainly that the Arabs left the camel behind because it was lame. This was a dramatic device to demonstrate the Arabs' ruthlessness: They murdered two human beings in cold blood, but allowed a lame camel to live. Note that the camel scene appears in the 1965 film, but not at all in the 2004 film.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: It is possible for a plane to crash in such way that the pilot and passengers can survive unharmed. There are documented cases of survivors walking away from a crash. It just depends on the pilots skills, how the plane lands, and what type of ground the plane hits. The desert sand would cushion the impact somewhat.

raywest ★

Answer: "The Flight of the Phoenix" (both the original film and the remake) is a fictional tale about a group of men beating odds that are overwhelmingly against them. Just the fact that they survived the desert crash is incredible enough, and that is what sets the tone for a whole series of death-defying events thereafter. It's sensational movie-making, stacking one death-defying event atop another; after all, there would be little reason to watch an adventure film in which everyone dies in the first 15 minutes. There are, of course, real-life incidents that are equally sensational: the crash landing of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in 2009, for example. All 155 passengers and the crew of Flight 1549 incredibly survived, against all odds (as depicted in the 2016 film "Sully").

Charles Austin Miller