The air traffic controllers communicate with the pilots in German. In reality, all communication between the air traffic controllers and the pilots of commercial airliners must be in English, which is the international language of aviation.
The air traffic controller controlling the airspace at the time of the crash uses the call sign "DHX" when communicating with the DHL cargo plane. The cargo plane involved in the real crash was operated by DHL International Aviation ME (SNAS/DHL), which uses the call sign "DILMUN".
When Balkajew arrives in Germany, he is shown visiting a car rental company at Stuttgart's airport, but the car that he uses to drive to the crash site is equipped with Swiss license plates.
The car that Balkajew uses to drive to the crash site in July 2002 is a fifth-generation Volkswagen Golf that was not sold until late 2003.