The cartoon played on the aircraft is a "Tom and Jerry" knock-off.
Subaru Sumeragi for pointing this
one out: The stewardess with the rosy cheeks on the hijacked plane looks like
she might be based on the J-Pop singer Tomoe Shinohara. Looking at a picture of her, I tend to agree.
The Hijacker's names are Huey, Dewey and Louie.
The character of Piccaro was based, visually, on The Notorious
B.I.G. No joke or speculation - this is direct from the source.
According to JohLke of rec.arts.anime.misc,
this episode is a remake of "On Dangerous Ground", a film noir staring Ida
Lupino.
Heavy references to Bruce Lee and his ideas behind Jeet Kun Do.
The title of the song "Stella by Moor" references the song "Stella by Starlight",
an old jazz standard (don't ask me who wrote it).
If you notice any references that I missed, I would appreciate
it if you e-mail me.