Except for Steven Seagal's character having a shady CIA-type past, this film is an almost scene-by-scene remake of the Michael Dudikoff vehicle Black Thunder (1998). Despite this, the writer of "Black Thunder," William C. Martell, received no official credit for the screenplay, only a "thanks" buried in the end credits of "Flight of Fury." Seagal and his writing partner Joe Halpin received full credit for the screenplay.
Steven Seagal has said that this is his favourite movie since Under Siege. In an interview with Sight & Sound magazine he said "my character's arc was the most satisfying journey I've taken as a full-bodied action hero in some time. Where I've traditionally played guys who slap other guys about a bit and then throw them through some furniture, or slap some guys and shoot others, or shoot them and throw them through furniture, or even slap, shoot _and_ throw them through furniture, in this movie I slap some guys, shoot some guys, throw some through furniture...but then I _also_ get in a plane and drop bombs on others. So really that's a lot of range, and something new I can challenge myself with as a distraction to the frustration of my pants feeling tighter."
A number of the flight scenes were footage taken right from Iron Eagle (1986)
In an interview on young actresses being pressured to perform nude, Ciera Payton said she had just turned 18 when she was cast in a lead role opposite Steven Seagal in this film. It was her first professional acting job, and filming would take place in Romania. But before accepting the role, neither the film's producers nor her agent showed her the film's full script. So it wasn't until halfway through her flight from the U.S. to Romania that she read the entire screenplay for the first time and discovered a scene in which a character comes out of the shower naked. She said she panicked when she realized it was her character. She would also be performing a sex scene with another woman. When she stepped off the plane, knowing no one else on set and without enough money to even place an international phone call, Payton decided to go straight to the top and approached Seagal in his trailer. After thanking him for the opportunity, she explained that she hadn't been informed about the expected nude scene, and she wasn't comfortable performing it. "He's kind of sitting there," said Payton, "and he's trying to think of what to say, and he goes, 'You won't even show your tits?'" The actor sent Payton outside and gathered some of the other on-set higher-ups into his trailer, all of whom were male. Then he called Payton back in to question her. Was she really not going to perform the nude scenes? Wouldn't she just take her top off? "At one point," says Payton, "somebody in the room is just like, 'You know, we stuck our neck out to hire you for this.'" When Payton's post-shower scene in "Flight of Fury" was finally filmed, she convinced on-set higher-ups to let her wear a negligee rather than appear nude. Producers of "Flight of Fury" did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Seagal also has not been available for comment, and Anthony Falangetti, an attorney representing Seagal, states that, "It appears based upon Ms. Payton's assertions, that she did not have to do anything she didn't want to do." Still, she was pushed far beyond her comfort zone; she was clothed for the sex scene with her female co-star, but their interaction was graphic, and it was choreographed by the same all-male team that pressured her to perform topless. "They are choreographing, 'Suck her breast here, kiss her there, pull her hair back," says Payton. "And they keep saying, 'Remember what you're doing, that's good, that's good.' It was so creepy. ... I just felt really (terrible), and very powerless." It took Payton, who has since gone on to appear on "Californication," "Ballers" and "The Walking Dead," a long time to come to terms with what happened. "To be reduced to some sex toy or something, none of that feels good," she said.
Howard Stern reviewed this film, although he incorrectly called it "The Flight", you can find the clip on YOUTUBE, it's clear he is talking about this film and describes the entire plot in hilarious details.