In Airframe, as in most of his novels, Crichton uses the false document literary device, presenting numerous technical documents to create a sense of authenticity.
On March 23, 1994 Aeroflot Flight 593, an Airbus A310-304, flying from Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) to Hong Kong's former Hong Kong International Airport (Kai Tak Airport), crashed into a hillside in Siberia.