Ferry Captain Vincent Lombardi, who was the Captain of the first ferry to reach the airplane, played himself in this film.
Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger was present at the studio. He supported the film and helped it to reflect reality.
Producer and director Clint Eastwood deliberately filmed the escape onto the life raft without rehearsal, in order to capture the physical difficulty of releasing the raft. The actions of Tom Hanks (Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger) and Aaron Eckhart (Jeff Skiles) were unscripted.
The production filmed scenes at the New York Marriott Downtown hotel, where the original crash landing survivors were brought after the accident.
Tom Hanks spent half a day with Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger at his Bay Area house during pre-production. Sullenberger said he was impressed by how well Hanks caught him.
Jeffrey Skiles: During the credits, in archive footage of a U.S. Airways Flight 1549 crew and passengers reunion.
Chesley Sullenberger: During the credits, in archive footage of a U.S. Airways Flight 1549 crew and passengers reunion.