The bowling alley scene was filmed at Parkway Lanes in Elmwood Park, NJ.
The neon in the "Parkway Lanes" sign had not worked for over 20 years. It was repaired by the production company. At night, the lit sign may be seen from the northbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway.
Harrison Ford said he would never work with Sydney Pollack again after the film flopped, artistically and commercially.
This film is based on the January, 1982, Air Florida plane crash into the Potomac River, flying out of National Airport, Washington, D.C.
During production planning for this film, the studio contacted American Airlines to request information about its "CARE Team" in order to portray the movie airline's response team more accurately. American declined, seeing no upside in being associated with a film about a crash.