The airplane crash site was recreated in a field in Central California in the Southern San Joaquin Valley and was exactly modeled on a crash that occurred outside Sioux City in Iowa in 1989. The "accident" was reported by several flights flying over the scene. The field was first planted with 85 acres of corn which was then bulldozed to recreate the gouge that a crashing plane would have made. The adjoining cotton field was also purchased to make the crash appear bigger. 140 extras were employed for the scene along with 40 members of the Kern County and Bakersfield Fire Department. One of the town's main roads was closed for a week, and the local electricity company was persuaded to knock down several pylons and snarl up half a mile of electric cable to create a scene of almost total devastation. The crash site took a total of 10 days to prepare, and included throwing 600 suitcases and their contents (all items purchased from local thrift stores) liberally around the site. In total, the recreation cost $2 million.
To help him get to grips with his character, Max, Jeff Bridges spent some time with his good friend Gary Busey who, years before, had been in a severe motorbike accident which had put him into a coma.
The plane crash of the movie was inspired by a real air crash that took place in 1989. United Airlines flight 232, a DC-10, suffered a major hydraulic loss after an engine explosion. While attempting to land at Sioux City airport the plane came in too fast and at wrong angle, resulting in a devastating crash into the cornfields next to the runway.