One reason Roy Scheider made this film was so that he would be unavailable to get cast as Chief Brody in Jaws 3-D (1983), though he also admitted in an interview that the "Jaws" producers knew better than to ask him to play Brody again.
The film is dedicated to actor Warren Oates who played Captain Jack Braddock. The movie's closing credits dedication reads: "For Warren Oates, with love for all the joy you gave us".
During filming where Cochrane ambushes Blue Thunder at the incomplete skyscraper, the MD-500 Defender (the one Cochrane flew) had an engine failure and had to auto-rotate to a landing below. Fortunately, the parking lot was cleared and the pilot walked away uninjured. The helicopter was only slightly damaged.
Malcolm McDowell actually hated flying and no one, not even his wife, Mary Steenburgen, could persuade him to overcome his phobia. During the final battle scene between his character Cochrane and Roy Scheider's Frank Murphy, McDowell's grimaces were caught on film for all to see, clearly displaying his discomfort at being in the air. When his wife saw the movie, she was incredulous and asked the filmmakers, 'How did you get him inside that little helicopter? I couldn't even get him inside a plane!'
John Badham: Uncredited, as a television director situated in the video room. In the relevant shot, Badham is the furthest of the three cast members from the audience's point of view.
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