Harrison Ford involved in another incident while piloting plane, now under investigation by FAA
Harrison Ford is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration after once again experiencing an aviation mishap.
Last week, the Star Wars actor, 77, was piloting a plane in Los Angeles when he crossed a runway at Hawthorne Airport, despite receiving radio instructions to stay back as another aircraft was landing.
Ford released a statement obtained by EW on Wednesday, saying the "runway incursion" was due to his misunderstanding of the orders and that luckily, no one was harmed.
"Mr. Ford crossed the airport's only runway in his aircraft after he misheard a radio instruction from ATC. He immediately acknowledged the mistake and apologized to ATC for the error," a representative for the actor said in the statement. "The purpose of the flight was to maintain currency and proficiency in the aircraft. No one was injured and there was never any danger of a collision."
A spokesperson for the FAA told EW the two planes were about 3,600 feet apart at the time.
"The FAA is investigating an incident in which the pilot of an Aviat Husky taxied across the runway at Hawthorne Municipal Airport Friday afternoon while another aircraft was performing a touch-and-go landing," the FAA spokesperson said.
This is not the first time Ford, an experienced pilot, has run into problems while flying. In 2017, he mistakenly landed his plane on a taxiway at the wrong Southern California airport, flying directly over an airliner that was preparing for takeoff.
Back in March 2015, the actor sustained serious injuries after crash-landing a refurbished World War II training fighter. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation determined the plane lost power because of a worn-out, malfunctioning carburetor part, which stalled the engine and sent Ford on a dive into a Santa Monica golf course shortly after takeoff.
There was no requirement to check that piece of equipment, so no one was at fault for the crash.
In an interview in October 2015, Ford told EW: “I’ve been flying for 20 years, and it was a very rare thing to happen. It was a mechanical issue. No fault of the maintenance or anybody else.”
The actor was also involved in a 1999 helicopter roll-over in Santa Clarita, Calif., when his Bell 206 JetRanger failed to recover power in time during a training flight, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Ford and his instructor were not seriously injured, and the cause of the crash was ruled to be pilot error. Asked about the crash on Inside the Actor’s Studio, Ford replied: “I broke it.”
Other times, Ford's piloting hobby has been credited with saving the day. The actor, who has a home in Jackson, Wyo., was part of a squad of volunteers who flew over Yellowstone National Park in 2001 searching for a Boy Scout who went missing overnight. Ford ultimately located the boy while hovering over his part of the grid, which, to Ford's annoyance, made national headlines.
“What annoyed me about it all was that I’d pick somebody up off the mountain one day, and two days later they’d be on Good Morning America,” Ford told USA Today in 2008. “I thought, ‘It doesn’t give credit to all the other people involved.’ Suddenly, I’m swanning around as some kind of f—ing hero.”
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