The dedication "In memory of Carey Jones and Dick Harger." Jones and Harger had both been with the show since it began. By a tragic coincidence, both died the week the "Thin Air" episode was filmed. Carey Jones (assistant cameraman) was killed in a car crash. Dick Harger (transportation captain) had a heart attack.
Based upon the same book, Howard Browne's novel "Thin Air", as the Rockford Files "Sleight of Hand", in which Gerald McRaney also played a character.