Factual error: In the whole episode, Romania is depicted as a monarchy with the king in a position that allows him to make political decisions. However, Romania ceased to be a monarchy in 1947. By the time depicted in the episode (circa 1997), Romania was a republic and its head of state was the president. Members of the ex-royal family did not hold any positions in the Romanian government and were certainly not authorized to represent Romania in international events.
Ghosts of Christmas Past - S5-E11
Factual error: There would never be a show on the deck of a carrier while there are missions being flown.
Factual error: Season 9 Episode 5, "Touchdown": When they approach the aircraft carrier, the copilot says that the number two engine is flaming out. This means there is no more fuel to run that engine. That supposedly also means that there is not enough fuel for a fire alarm lighting up in the cockpit, which is what happens in the show. (Verified by a USMC Staff Sergeant who flew 8 years on a C130).
Head to Toe - S7-E15
Factual error: Lt.Col. Sarah Coffey wears the USAF uniform, but an Army insignia on her left collar (the MI "splatted bug"). An Air Force officer wears identical insignia on right and left collars (a dark oak leaf, in this case).
Factual error: The caps worn by sailors on ships, always have the name of the ship, along with the hull number. However, the caps worn by the crew of the USS Reprisal was "CVN-35", where the hull number of the ship they used "69"
Factual error: Throughout the series the captains of ships are generally portrayed as holding the rank of captain, regardless of the class and size of the ship they command. In reality the rank of the CO of a frigate would most likely be a Lt.Cmdr or Cmdr whereas the CO of a amphibious ship or a carrier would be a Captain. On these larger ships the XO usually holds the same rank as the CO, but obeys all orders given by him. However unlike in JAG the CAG takes most orders from the carrier group commander (2 star), not the CO.
Factual error: At the beginning of the episode Rabb evades two heat seeking missiles while flying a Mig-29. When Sarah asks him how he did it, he explains that he got them between the missiles and the sun which made the missiles target the sun instead since "it is a bigger target." While the sun is indeed a far larger source of infrared radiation than a fighter jet, all anti air missiles since the 1950s come equipped with navigation systems in their nose that contain an optical filter. This filters out unwanted data, including the specific infrared radiation coming from the sun. Hence it is impossible for modern anti-air heat seeking missiles to target the sun.
Factual error: NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building is located at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida - not Vandenberg AFB, CA.
Factual error: During the approach on the aircraft carrier, they had to put out the gear manually. The copilot shouts that she has three greens (meaning that all gears are down and locked), then she puts the gear lever up. If that is done, the gear would raise again or be in an unsafe position for the landing.
Factual error: The coast guard officer on the bridge in the opening scenes is wearing the gold oak leaves of a LCDR but the gold trim on his hat indicates he is a full commander. Later in the episode he is identified as a full commander but is not called Sir by Harm or Mac. In reality, as a senior member of a US uniformed service, he would be called Sir.
Factual error: When they have to jettison fuel during their final approach to the aircraft carrier, Rabb tells his co-pilot to dump 200 pounds of fuel. That is about 30 Gallons (about two normal car tanks). But there is way too much fuel being dumped to be only 30 gallons.
Factual error: Lt. Singer is wearing the wrong epaulets (shoulder boards). She is wearing the epaulets with a star on it instead of the legal emblem.
Factual error: This episode begins with a luxury cruiser being pursued by a USN Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate. In order to convince the vessel to heave to, the skipper of the USN ship orders two warning shots to be fired from the frigates forward gun. Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates do not have a forward gun. They have a launcher, which is visible in the ships external shots. The shot of the 5" gun firing is archive footage of a completely different (and much larger) vessel.
Need to Know - S8-E7
Factual error: Those that have a technical background may have noticed at the end, when the sub was destroyed due to being crushed from the water pressure, it was shown as having EXPLODED, instead of IMPLODING. This was due to the cost of setting up a shot, when stock footage was already available.
Factual error: The attention to detail on the ship was excellent, except that the sailors' teeth looked too good considering that sailors in the 19th did not brush their teeth and often chew tobacco.
Factual error: In this episode there is continual reference to the seahawk helicopter in the hanger. The helo that is pictured in the episode is a lot bigger than a seahawk and resembles a sea king. Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates can hold two seahawks but no Sea Kings.
Factual error: The scene outside the gate of the Naval Amphibious Base - Little Creek was NOT the same as the actual gate. Little Creek does not have palm trees adjoining it. The base itself is located at Norfolk, VA.
Factual error: In the opening scene the caption states "Antwerp, Belgium Diamond District", however, the street show is actually located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The building at the end of the street is the "Rijksmuseum" (famous for Rembrandt's "Nachtwacht"). Furthermore, the 2 diamond experts speak German. If it was in Antwerp, they should have been speaking Dutch or Flemish.
