Trivia
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-The model used for the crash sequence cost $250,000 and was so perfectly built(ben à ce prix là...) it actually flew further than the crew and testing had predicted. In fact it flew so far it hit the camera filming it and broke the cameraman's leg.
-Like James Stewart, who played Frank Towns in the 1965 version of "Flight of the Phoenix", Dennis Quaid is an experienced pilot.
-The production built a "Phoenix" that could be taxied, but were unable to safely build a flying version economically. Mindful of the original production which did build a "Phoenix" that could fly, but was structurally unsound and crashed killing stuntman Paul Mantz, the flying scenes were done using a radio controlled model and computer graphics.
-Miranda Otto's character, an engineer, is named "Kelly Johnson". Kelly Johnson is the name of a legendary aircraft engineer for Lockheed who designed the P-388 Lightning fighter of WWII. Later he ran the Lockheed "Skunk Works" which secretly produced the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes. In view of the fact that aircraft design is a key element of the plot, it is unlikely that the name is a coincidence.
-The aircraft used in the film is a Fairchild C-119, a direct descendent of the WWII era C-82 used in the original film
-The production transported three C-119 fuselages to Namibia where the film was shot. During transportation, a ferry carrying the fuselage and its trailer across a river sank and the parts had to be salvaged.
-Miranda Otto's character was not in the original version of the film.
-This film premiered in U.S. theaters on December 17, 2004, which marked cast member Giovanni Ribisi's 30th birthday.
