VENICE, Calif.– A small plane reportedly piloted by Harrison Ford crash-landed on the Penmar Golf Course near the Santa Monica Municipal Airport around 2:30 p.m. PST on Thursday.
When paramedics arrived on scene the victim was outside the plane, but it is not yet known if he was ejected or exited after the crash.
Here is a tweet from Ford’s son, Ben, confirming that he’ll be okay:
KTLA is reporting that Ford went into surgery for broken bones in his ankle and pelvis about four hours after the incident.
Ford’s publicist, Ina Treciokas, released the following statement:
Harrison was flying a WW2 vintage plane today which had engine trouble upon take off. He had no other choice but to make an emergency landing, which he did safely. He was banged up and is in the hospital receiving medical care. The injuries sustained are not life threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery.
Patrick Jones, an investigator from the NTSB who held a press conference on the investigation, said the pilot reported that the engine had lost power and that he was going to try and return to the runway. While trying to do that the wing clipped a tree, causing the crash of the single-engine plane.
Jones said Ford is an experienced flier, which Tom Haines of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association confirmed, saying he had flown with Ford in the past. “He’s a very skilled pilot. He’s very safety-conscious and goes to training routinely for all of his aircraft,” Haines said.
It is not the first crash for the star of the “Star Wars” and the Indiana Jones film franchise. In 1999, he had to make an emergency landing in a California riverbed while flying a helicopter.
