Filmed in 1971 but delayed for airing by ABC because that was the year of President Richard Nixon's trip to China and they didn't want to show the Chinese as villains.
This was Tod Andrews's final television appearance before his death on November 7, 1972 at the age of 57. He died almost a year prior to its broadcast.
Air Force One, a VC-137C, a Boeing 707-353B, is depicted by a former United Airlines Boeing 720B-022, and carries the serial number 62-6001 (tail number 26001), one digit up from President John F. Kennedy's 62-6000 (tail number 26000), as if it was part of a two aircraft order. The actual serial 62-6001 was assigned to a Martin AGM-12 Bullpup missile.
Jeff Burton, who played a reporter, and Tod Andrews, who played the president of the title whose plane is missing, had each played an ill-fated astronaut who both had the misfortune of landing on the title destination in Planet of the Apes (1968) and Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), respectively. This was Andrews' last acting role, while Burton had only a few more roles, including only one feature film after this.