Because there was no official United States military component featured in The Avengers, Joss Whedon didn't have any real fighter plans or helicopters to play with during shooting. That meant that they had to be added in digitally or with affordable second hand props. As a result, one of the planes destroyed by the Hulk and Thor during their battle on the Helicarrier was actually used in 1994 movie True Lies. It wasn't included as a way of paying homage to James Cameron or as some sort of clever Easter Egg though. Instead, as Whedon himself put it, they used it because "we got that one for cheap." That seems fair.
