Harrison Ford injured in crash landing at golf course
Actor, experienced pilot reported engine failure
LOS ANGELES – Harrison Ford crash-landed his vintage plane Thursday after losing engine power, suffering serious but not life-threatening injuries when he used his extensive piloting experience to skillfully bring down the plane on a golf course and avoid nearby homes.
It was the latest and most serious in a series of crashes and close calls for the 72-year-old action-adventure A-lister, who like his “Star Wars” alter-ego Han Solo has a taste for aerial thrills. He was helped by golfers who saw the plane come down about a quarter-mile short of the runway at Santa Monica Municipal Airport and was taken to a hospital conscious and breathing.
Ford’s publicist, Ina Treciokas, said in a statement that Ford had no other choice but to make an emergency landing. She said his injuries “are not life threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery.”
Ford was about a half-mile west of the airport and flying at 3,000 feet when he told air traffic controllers that his engine failed, interim Santa Monica City Manager Elaine Polachek said in an email to city officials.
Ford’s plane “apparently hit a tree on the way down,” and in addition to a cut forehead, Ford may have broken his leg, the email said.
The plane, a yellow 1942 Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR with stars on its wings, was upright and mostly intact after the crash. No one on the ground was hurt.
“I would say that this is an absolutely beautifully executed – what we would call – a forced or emergency landing, by an unbelievably well-trained pilot,” said Christian Fry of the Santa Monica Airport Association.
Ford, who keeps his plane at the airport, took off at 2 p.m. About 20 minutes later, he told the tower he had engine failure and was making an immediate return, according to a recording posted by the website LiveATC.net.
He came down on a fairway at Penmar Golf Course.
“Immediately you could see the engine started to sputter and just cut out, and he banked sharply to the left,” said Jeff Kuprycz, who was golfing when he saw the plane taking off. “He ended up crashing around the eighth hole.”
Kuprycz estimated the plane was about 200 feet overhead when it plunged to the ground.