20 Things You Didn't Know About The Blues Brothers
8. The Pinto Dropped During The Climactic Car Chase Had To Be Certified By The FAA As A 'Non-aircraft'
During the final chase, the Illinois Nazis whose rally Jake and Elwood destroyed earlier in the movie join the pursuit in a Pinto and a station wagon, adding to the Brothers' urgency to make it to the Cook County building.
The boys lead them to the edge of an incomplete highway, stopping the Bluesmobile just over the edge. Elwood throws the car into reverse and, somehow, magically flips the car backwards while the Nazi Pinto continues, to drop to the road below.
Like with the other driving stunts in the film, this was a practical effect. A Ford Pinto was dropped approximately 1200 feet from a helicopter. Actually, two were dropped - one for testing purposes, and one for the shoot.
Because the Federal Aviation Administration was concerned that the car's shape would cause it to tumble through the air, the studio had to get a Special Certification that the car would not in any way fly or move, but drop straight down.
Basically, the US government turned the Pinto into a specially licenced 'aircraft' for the drop, which provided liability and safety protection for both the FAA and the production.