When “American Made” was being made, a terrible accident happened that mirrored the risky actions of the movie’s main character, Barry Seal. This sad turn of events made me think of the dangers that were shown in the movie. On the set of the 2017 movie that came out, Tom Cruise played the major role. But the production had to deal with the sad truth when a crash killed two pilots and hurt another badly.
The pilots of the terrible flight that happened in Colombia in September 2015 were Andrew Purwin, Jimmy Lee Garland, and Carlos Berl. The plane was a twin-engine Aerostar 600 that was being used to film the movie. Garland, who was acting as a double for Tom Cruise and also worked as a pilot and mechanic, was seriously hurt in the crash. Purwin and Berl, on the other hand, sadly died.
After the accident, the families of the pilots who died filed lawsuits, raising concerns about the safety measures that were in place and saying that those in charge of making sure the production area was safe had been careless. It’s important to remember that Berl, despite having a lot of experience, was worried about the new Aerostar plane, which shows how much trouble the crew was having.
There were also claims of forced air travel, hacked planes, and faked certifications, which made things even more difficult and led to long court battles. The cases were finally settled in 2019 for an undisclosed amount. This brought attention to the fact that the event had a huge impact on safety standards and government oversight in the film industry.
Through the history of Hollywood, this terrible event has happened many times. A vivid reminder of the risks that come with making movie dreams come true, even when the goal is to create great art, the fact that similar risks were met while making “Top Gun” in 1985 served as a stark reminder.
Even though a lot of time has passed and the movie is still very famous, “American Made” is a sobering reminder of the real-life risks that people who work on making great movies face. It stresses how important it is to put safety first above all else when you’re trying to be artistic.