Harrison Ford, who made his name flying the Millennium
Falcon in Star Wars, was hailed for his real life piloting skills as he
survived a plane crash and averted disaster by steering his aircraft clear of
houses.
Mr Ford, 72, was flying a vintage Second World War trainer
when the engine failed moments after take-off, sending him plummeting to the
ground in a residential area of Los Angeles.
Witnesses described how he veered away from homes and
clipped a tree as he hit the ground just short of the eighth tee at Penmar
municipal golf course, a stone's throw from a quiet cul-de-sac.
Golfers, including two off-duty doctors, rushed to the
downed plane and pulled out the actor who was bleeding from his head.
Elaine Miller, one of the golfers, said he was "in
pain". She said: "He had a significant head wound. He asked someone
to hold his legs up and people were just saying 'You're OK, the fire department
is on its way.'"
Paramedics strapped the actor to a spinal board and took him
to hospital where he was described as in "moderate to fair"
condition.
Mr Ford had taken off alone in the two-seater 1942 Ryan
Aeronautical ST3KR from Santa Monica Airport at 2.20pm.
He then made a tense and rushed call to air traffic control
saying: "Engine failure. Request immediate return."
He went quiet and a controller could soon be heard saying:
"Looks like it (the plane) was short of the runway."
Paul Crumm, a pilot who uses the same airport, saw Mr Ford's
plane much lower than it should have been and dipping below the tree line.
He told CNN: "I didn't hear the engine. It was
definitely not there at that point. His engine was no longer effective so he
couldn't keep going. In a situation like that Mr Ford did everything
right."
Paul Mitton, producer of Just Another Pilot, a documentary
featuring Mr Ford, said: "Harrison is an extremely good pilot. Had he got
a little further he would have been over suburbia and the outcome would have
been very different and less happy. He did an incredible job of missing the
trees (on the golf course)."
One resident said: "I heard the engine stop and he
turned around when he was near the houses. I think it's amazing he made it
back. He must be a very good pilot not just acting it well."
The plane came down between a line of tall trees and the
golf course's perimeter chain fence.
On impact the nose buckled and the propeller ploughed into
the ground. One of the yellow wings appeared to have snapped at the base. There
was a 15ft long furrow behind the aircraft and one of the wheels had come off.
Jeff Kuprycz, who was playing golf, saw the plane about
200ft off the ground and dropping.
He said: "Immediately you could see the engine started
to sputter and just cut out and he banked sharply to the left. He ended up
crashing around the eighth hole. There was no explosion or anything. It just
sounded like a car hitting the ground or a tree."
Howard Teba, who works at the golf course, said he heard a
"thud" and later put a blanket under Mr Ford's hip.
He told the Santa Monica Daily Press: "There was blood
all over his face. He had a massive gash on his forehead."
Residents have previously demanded the closure of Santa
Monica Airport over safety concerns and Mr Ford has been prominent in the
campaign to keep it open, donating tens of thousands of dollars.
It is used regularly by aircraft enthusiasts such as Mr
Ford, and also by Hollywood stars travelling by private jet.
In July 2010 a pilot died after his single engine Cessna
crashed on the Penmar golf course, also near the eighth hole.
Patrick Jones, an investigator for the National
Transportation Safety Board, said Mr Ford was "absolutely" lucky to
have survived.
He said: "The pilot is an experienced pilot. The pilot
reported a loss of engine power and was attempting to return to the airport. It
appears he clipped the top of a tree and came to a rest on the golf course. I'm
sure the pilot was glad there was a golf course here."
Patrick Butler, Los Angeles assistant fire chief, described
Mr Ford has having been "alert, talking and breathing" after the
crash.
A spokesman for the actor said in a statement:
"Harrison was flying a WW2 vintage plane today which stalled upon
take-off. He had no other choice but to make an emergency landing, which he did
safely. The injuries sustained are not life-threatening, and he is expected to
make a full recovery."
Mr Ford has been a pilot for at least two decades and owns
about a dozen planes.
Christian Fry, of the Santa Monica Airport Association,
said: "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."
His off-screen life is filled with almost as many thrills
and spills as the characters he portrays on film.
In 1999 he crash-landed a helicopter during a training
flight near Los Angeles and was unhurt.
The following year high winds forced him to make an
emergency landing of a plane in Nebraska. The plane clipped the runway and its
wing tips were damaged.
Source: The Telegraph
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