Afterburn (1992 film)

On November 15, 1982, Janet Harduvel (Laura Dern) is devastated by the news of the death of her husband Ted (Vincent Spano) who flew as a United States Air Force pilot in one of the world's most sophisticated fighter aircraft, the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.^{[N 1]} She is stymied in finding out the truth behind his crash in Korea and takes on the US military and General Dynamics, maker of the F-16. With the help of her lawyer, Leo Morrone (Robert Loggia), and her sister Mary (Welker White), Harduvel begins the long process of unraveling the lies and deception that are behind a joint military and General Dynamics cover-up that blames the accident on pilot error. Despite setbacks, she proves to be unwavering in her search for the truth to clear his name and uncover the deadly secret buried in the F-16.

As appearing in screen credits (main roles identified):^[3]

Captain Theodore T. Harduvel's widow, Janet, was the focus of the production and her assistance was paramount in presenting an accurate portrait of the struggle to clear her husband's memory and legacy.^[5] In 1987, Janet Harduvel won a $3.1 million jury award against General Dynamics Corporation, alleging a flight instrumentation malfunction due to a short circuit caused by frayed ("chafed") wiring, led to his crash.^[6][7] The verdict would "ultimately be overturned, not on its merits, but on the basis that federal defense contractors enjoy blanket immunity from such lawsuits."^[1] A subsequent defeat on appeal followed.^[8] Harduvel's attorney, Howard Acosta, said he was particularly baffled because the original award was taken away "as a result of a law that was not in effect at the time of our trial."^[9]

When producer Steve Tisch saw a 60 Minutes segment on Harduvel's legal fight,^[10] after working with her on a proposal, he pitched the film to Disney, originally titled, "The Janet Harduvel Story." At the height of the Gulf War, the feature was in pre-production when Disney reassessed the optics of releasing an anti-military film, and backed out. HBO quickly picked up the project, but only offered a fraction of the original budget of $14 million. Tisch said, "HBO said they wanted to make the movie, but I would have less than $5 million to make it. It was exactly the same movie, but it all worked out."^[10] Janet Harduvel appeared in an uncredited cameo role, and acted as a creative consultant on the film. Harduvel's real-life attorney, aviation specialist, Howard M. Acosta Sr., assisted by attorney Charles Price and investigator Myron Pappadakis, were together changed into the fictional attorney Leo Marrone. Harduvel's sister, Marybeth, was the basis for the film's Mary Sciales.^{[N 3]}

The technical issues that are dealt with in Afterburn is that the F-16 "Viper"^{[N 4]} is entirely reliant on its electrical systems to relay flight commands as well as digital instrument reading, instead of traditional analog instruments and mechanically-linked controls, leading to the early moniker of "the electric jet".^[11] In Capt. Harduvel's final mission, he relied on his faulty instrument reading that showed him close to terrain, but did not indicate that he was upside down and his "pull out" actually propelled him at full power, inverted, into a hillside.^[5] General Dynamics was aware of a potential problem of wiring becoming chafed by the high-G forces inherent in the F-16's flight envelope, and had a maintenance advisory issued.^[12]

A dramatic tension was created with Harduvel pitted against the secrets buried deep in the miles-long wiring that eventually was proved to be the reason for a series of F-16 crashes. Principal photography took place in southern California, although the production had no access to USAF bases, the ingenious use of a solitary "mocked-up" F-16 fighter and USAF fighters created by the special effects team of Stargate Films, were seamlessly blended into the film.^[10] A number of evocative images by Isidore Mankofsky of the F-16 are used for effect, later to be recognized by an Emmy nomination for his cinematography. Also notable is the music by Stewart Copeland, best-known to the public as the drummer for the British band The Police, but who also was a very successful composer with an extensive career in films and TV productions.^[13][14]