While most movies and TV shows portray scenes on airplanes using mock-ups, Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI), or both, occasionally, a visually stunning masterpiece is produced when producers decide to use actual airplanes in the shot, thereby making the experience for viewers all the more realistic.

This list looks at five instances wherein actual aircraft were used to shoot scenes in various movies or TV shows.

1

The 747 crash in Tenet

Yes, an actual Boeing 747 was crashed in Christopher Nolan’s 2020 hit – Tenet.

While an aircraft crashing is something that has been portrayed in countless movies and TV shows, Christopher Nolan, in his 2020 movie Tenet, decided to take things to a whole new level and

actually crash a Boeing 747 into a building
. Don’t worry; it was not an aerial crash but rather a ground collision. As Neil said,

Not from the air…. Don’t be so dramatic!

According to data from Planespotters.net, the aircraft used was a Boeing 747-200 previously operated by Cathay Pacific
. For the film, the aircraft was given the livery of a fictional cargo carrier with a registration code:

Fictional Name

Fictional Registration Code

Norskfreight

LN-WTJK

2

The three Spitfires on Top Gear

Car enthusiasts all over the world know Top Gear best as a car show, which it is. However, over the years, the show has featured different modes of transport as well, including aircraft on some occasions. Perhaps one of the more interesting aircraft sightings on the show was when the (ex)hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond flew in three Spitfire aircraft.

According to an online forum, WW2Aircraft, this was part of-

This is the episode wherein Clarkson, May, and Hammond were asked to participate in different race and car-based challenges by the hosts of a German motoring TV Show.

Spitfire aircraft parked together

Photo: Sean Aidan Calderbank | Shutterstock

Staying on the topic of the Spitfire, the show, on a different occasion, featured a unique car which is powered by a Spitfire engine. Following suit, the hosts on their succeeding show, The Grand Tour, tried powering an amphibious vehicle using a jet engine from the RAF Nimrod, which had a hilarious outcome.

3

Hanging from the side of an A400

Famous for doing his own stunts, Tom Cruise once strapped himself to the side on an A400…. while taking off.

In a world where there are people afraid to fly in an airplane, movie star –

Tom Cruise strapped himself onto the side of an Airbus A400
for a movie stunt. In the opening scenes of Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation (5th installment of the series), Cruise is late for his flight, so he decides to jump onto the departing airbus a400m
and try and stop dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands.

If you think doing it once is scary enough, Tom Cruise had to do eight takes to get all the perfect shots for the movie.

While Tom has done his fair share of aerial stunts for movies, apart from being an actor, Tom Cruise is a passionate aviator and is actually a licensed pilot, certified to fly multiple types of aircraft.

Some of the other aerial stunts Cruise has been a part of include:

The Mummy

Mission Impossible 6: Fallout

Top Gun

Top Gun: Maverick

0-gravity airplane scene

Helicopter chase with Henry Cavill

Shot using actual fighter jets

4

Cruising in his North American P-51 Mustang

Apart from being an avid aviator, Tom Cruise also owns a P-51 Mustang aircraft.

As established, Tom Cruise is an actor who likes to do his own stunts, which often include aerial stunts onboard airplanes and helicopters. Furthermore, as a skilled aviator, Tom owns and operates his own North American P-51 Mustang
aircraft.

This particular aircraft, along with the actor himself, has made an appearance at the end of Top Gun Maverick, where Tom’s character, Maverick, flies the aircraft on a scenic sunset flight with co-star Penny.

Additionally, Cruise has also taken ex-Late night TV Show Host – James Corden for a flight onboard the P-51.

While it is well known that the actor owns two aircraft, there are rumors that the actor owns two other airplanes as well:

  1. P-51 Mustang
  2. Gulfstream GIV
  3. Bombardier Challenger 300 (rumored)
  4. Honda Jet HA-420 (rumored)

5

An aircraft switch before the drop

To simulate another plane crash, Christopher Nolan shot the scenes on an actual aircraft and then crashed a life-size movie prop.

It appears that both Cruise and Nolan share a passion for portraying scenes in movies as realistically as possible. Not that Nolan is into crashing airplanes in movies, but in the 2012 hit movie The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan crashed an aircraft for a scene… well, sort of.

At the beginning of the movie, when the movie’s antagonist – Bane, escapes from planned captivity onboard a flying aircraft, the scenes onboard the aircraft are shot inside an actual aircraft. However, this is not what crashed.

As reported by Screen Rant, after shooting the required scenes onboard an actual aircraft, when the time for the crash came, Nolan decided to drop a life-size model of an aircraft from the sky. Essentially, the aircraft became a prop in the movie – a really large and, no doubt, expensive prop, but a prop nonetheless.

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