Harrison Ford: Plane Crash

[American Patriot]

He has walked away, yet again from a plane crash. Well, technically, he didn't walk, he was carted out on a gurney.

Ford, who is 72, crashed a vintage, WWII plane onto a gold course yesterday after noon in Santa Monica, CA.

Ford is credited with rescuing hikers with a helicopter, and escaping at least three crashes, including one in a helicopter.

(Personally, if I crashed three planes, I think I'd quit flying altogether - especially if I survived them all. There's always that "last one".)


Harrison Ford's plane crash could spur efforts to close Santa Monica Airport

A vintage single-engine airplane piloted by actor Harrison Ford sits on the Penmar golf course in Venice after crashing. (Anne Cusack, Los Angeles Times)

By Matt Stevens and Dan Weikel contact the reporters

• Air Transportation Disasters
• Air Transportation
• Harrison Ford
• Santa Monica Airport
• Golf
• Air Transportation Industry
• Federal Aviation Administration

Actor Harrison Ford is injured when the plane he is flying crashes on a Venice golf course


Actor Harrison Ford was injured Thursday when his vintage airplane experienced engine trouble and crash-landed on a Venice golf course — an accident that could well spur efforts to close Santa Monica Airport.
Ford, 72, an experienced pilot and owner of several aircraft, plowed the yellow-and-silver plane into a fairway at Penmar golf course about 2:25 p.m., shortly after takeoff. According to air traffic control recordings, he reported an engine failure to the Santa Monica tower and had been cleared to return.
Authorities said Ford managed to fly over Penmar, which is on the airport's departure route and provides a swath of open space for pilots to use in emergencies.

Caption Harrison Ford Injured In Small Plane Crash On Venice Golf Course

Harrison Ford Injured In Small Plane Crash On Venice Golf Course

Harrison Ford's Son Tweets, "At the Hospital. Dad Is OK"

Harrison Ford crash lands small vintage plane

Harrison Ford flies classic plane

He was flying solo in a restored Ryan PT-22 Recruit, a sleek two-place monoplane built during World War II to train Army Air Forces pilots. Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane is registered to MG Aviation Inc., a Delaware company.
Los Angeles firefighters said Ford, best known for his roles in the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" movies, was conscious when they arrived. He was outside the plane being tended by several bystanders.
Paramedics treated Ford at the scene and he remained hospitalized Thursday night. At an afternoon news conference, Assistant Fire Chief Patrick Butler said Ford was alert and had suffered moderate trauma.
"Normally, the outcomes are fatalities, so we are very thankful," Butler said.

lRelated

Movies Now

Denis Villeneuve to direct 'Blade Runner' sequel; Harrison Ford back

See all related
8

Ina Treciokas, Ford's publicist, said in a prepared statement that the actor was banged up, but his injuries were not life-threatening. He is expected to make a full recovery, she said. Some of his injuries have been described as bumps, bruises and cuts.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA will investigate the crash and determine its cause.
Shortly after the accident, anti-airport activists and Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin, whose Westside district borders Santa Monica Airport, reiterated their positions that the embattled facility should be shut down.
They contend that the airport is unsafe, and that surrounding neighborhoods are affected by noise and air pollution from flight operations. City officials have tried repeatedly to close the facility and to ban certain types of jets, but they have lost in court battles with the FAA.

Harrison Ford crash heightens Santa Monica Airport safety debate

"Really, for me, the first concern has always been the fear of a plane falling out of the sky and landing in someone's home," Bonin said. "That has happened in the past."
NTSB records and news reports show there have been 42 Santa Monica-related crashes since 1982 within five miles of the airport. Eleven planes came down in Santa Monica and West Los Angeles neighborhoods.
One crashed in a Venice intersection and two, including Ford's plane, have come down on Penmar. No one on the ground has been killed or seriously injured.
Based on the number of accidents per 100,000 takeoffs and landings, Santa Monica ranks in the middle of the 11 busiest general aviation airports with control towers in Los Angeles, Orange County and Riverside counties.

cComments

• I would assume it was Reggie the snake that caused the crash...
  wascoman
  at 6:24 AM March 06, 2015

Add a comment See all comments
9

"We are certainly hoping that Harrison Ford will have a full recovery," said Martin Rubin, president of Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution. "But this is the second crash in Penmar over the years. This certainly raises safety concerns. Santa Monica is unique in the nation because it has dense neighborhoods next to an airport."
Valerie Davidson, a 25-year Santa Monica resident who lives one street away from the site of Thursday's crash, said: "We all live in fear here.
"It's really going to cause a major problem when a big jet comes down," said Davidson, 55. Ford "flies in and out of here all the time. He's not a friend of the residents of this neighborhood. I'm pleased he's OK.... But this might be a wake-up call."
FAA officials and airport supporters say the city is obligated under various agreements dating from 1948 to keep the airport open unless the U.S. government agrees otherwise. They also say the airport is a vital part of the region's transportation system.
Ford has been part of the effort to preserve the airport. He contributed almost $26,000 to the campaign for a pro-airport ballot measure that was defeated in November's city election.
He also joined with airport tenants in asking the federal government to determine whether the terms of an aviation improvement grant require Santa Monica to keep the airport open until at least 2023. That proceeding is pending.
At the time of Thursday's crash, Ford had only recently recovered from a broken left leg he suffered in June while filming "Star Wars: Episode VII." The injury required him to have surgery and go through rehab, causing a two-week hiatus in filming.
On screen, the actor has often starred in stunt-heavy adventure films — the "Indiana Jones" franchise, "Blade Runner" and "Air Force One." When he played a pilot in "Six Days/Seven Nights," he flew as part of the role after meeting requirements set out by the FAA and the film's insurance company.
But he's never been afraid of taking risks off-set, either. He's long held a passion for both motorcycles and airplanes, telling Playboy in 2002 that he loves the "combination of freedom and responsibility" that flying gives him.
"It's anonymity," he said. "I'm not Harrison Ford, I'm November 1128 Sierra."

[American Patriot]

By the way, he didn't "plow" into the field. He clipped a tree and skidded to a stop on the greenway. He hit hard enough to break his ankles (he just got over the broken leg filming Star Wars recently). He may have damaged or broken his pelvis bone as well. He is in stable condition.

[Malsua]

At some point, your reflexes simply aren't as good as they were, this is his sign to hang up his wings.

[American Patriot]

I never got my pilot's license. I'm still 17 going on 58. lol

I don't think I ever had good enough vision, or reflexes for that (though, I have flown a lot of simulators, and one Cesna).

So for me, I hung them up long ago. hahaha.

I don't much care for Ford's politics. He's a bit of sissy boy when it comes to politics, very Left Leaning if I recall correctly and I don't think he likes guns, he's a Democrat and a California Democrat to boot. Yet, he is flying WWII military air craft (and collects them).

But, I'll give him credit where credit is due. He HAS gone out of his way to save people and do rather "heroic" things in the past. I mean, if you're gonna be an actor that looks large, you should live large and do large things.

[American Patriot]

You know, his reflexes couldn't have been that bad though. The plane failed (engine died) and he was now in a glider.

So he tried to return to the airport but wasn't high enough, then he aimed for the golf course about 500 yards short of the run way, but then clipped a small tree when put him down hard.

I think were it not for the tree he'd have landed the plane intact.

[Malsua]

I'm just saying...you get old, you miss things. Maybe there was an oil pressure number out of spec and he couldn't read the gauge because of his old man eyes....you're just not on the same level at 70 as you are at 35.

[American Patriot]

I'm not on the same level at 57 I was at 56.

LOL

[Ryan Ruck]

He might not have a choice as to whether he quits flying. Depending on what they find, the FAA might pull his certs, especially since this isn't his first crash.

[Toad]

I hope I'm alive at 72, let alone flying planes and in good (general) health.

If he can no longer fly, he has a wealth of classic collector planes under his belt for sale. He can buy into another expensive hobby. He's been flying and buying unique rare planes since the early 70s.

[American Patriot]

They might not pull them based on what happened. He was coming in to the airport and found that his glide ratio wasn't sufficient to make it. He made the same choice any decent pilot would do, and that is to find a location to set down in that was devoid of buildings. A golf course is probably the next best thing to an open horse field.

According to witnesses and to evidence he clipped a small tree that took out what was left of his inertia and plopped him HARD in the field (hence breaking the wheels, his ankles and pelvis.)