The idea of the Medicopter crashing into a material cable car came from a real life accident. On 17 November 1997 a helicopter owned by Heli Austria GmbH hit a cable car in Ellmautal (Austria), lost power of the engine and crashed. The pilot, owner of Heli Austria GmbH, died in the accident while his son survived with serious injuries. Heli Austria GmbH also owns the heliport that was used for filming as the Medicopter base.