Engine failure:
In air traffic control audio, a clam Ford said that his engine failed as
he asked for permission to land. He didn't make it to the airport, and
instead landed at nearby Penmar golf course
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Hospitalized: Authorities initially
reported that Ford was taken to the hospital in critical condition, but
his condition was later downgraded to fair to moderate
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Seasoned aviator: Ford, who has been flying planes since the 1960s, was the only person in the plane at the time of the crash
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Crash site:
Firefighters who responded to the crash scene say Ford was alert and
conscious when they pulled him from the World War II-era plane
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Maneuvering: Ford's struggling plane is seen above just moments before it crash landed at the golf course on Thursday
Ford
first started flying in the 1960s, but didn't have the money or time
for regular lessons until later in life - becoming a licensed pilot in
1996.
'Harrison's
been a great pilot. You can see by the fact that he survived this
forced landing that he is a skilled aviator,' Paul Mitton, who produced a
documentary about Ford's love of flying, told CNN.
'Just looking at the crash site, you see the trees nearby there's a tree not too far behind the aircraft.
'Had
the wing clipped that, the airplane could have spun around, he could
have been ejected, he could have ended up upside down. That would have
been bad,' Mitton added.
Aviation
expert Rick Dake told People that Ford's landing was amazing
considering the unforgiving nature of the World War II-era plane.
'Everything he did was perfect,' Dake, of Aviation Consulting Experts, told People.
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Taken to local hospital: The father-of-five is reportedly sustained 'head injuries' and was seen on a gurney on Thursday
He
says less-experienced pilots training on the plane during World War II
would often crash because the plane tended to flip when the engine
fails.
'That
alone is testament to the great ability Harrison Ford had. He made a
180-degree turn with the engine seizing up on him. He almost made it to
the runway,' Dake said.
'He
was able to keep that plane away from the houses and land it with the
least impact on the community. That was the best place he could have
landed it.
'He was 100 per cent doing exactly what an excellent aviator would do.'
Witness Ryan Harris called the landing a 'masterful feat of airmanship' in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
'There are about eight trees nearby, and he put it down without hitting any of them,' Harris said.
The
crash happened just before 2:30pm PT, shortly after Ford took off from
Santa Monica Airport alone in the two-seater vintage airplane.
After
take-off Ford called back to to the air traffic control tower, saying
his engine had unexpectedly died and he needed clearance to land.
The
air traffic controllers gave Ford permission to return to the runway -
but the actor's plane couldn't make the journey. Instead he glided the
plane down onto a green at the local golf course.
Twitter
user Alex Miller posted that his mother was golfing on the hole where
Ford crashed and rushed to aide the actor who 'seemed ok'.
Golf course employee Howard Tabe told NBC News: 'There
was blood all over his face. ... Two very fine doctors were treating
him, taking good care of him. I helped put a blanket under his hip.'
It
was initially reported that the actor was in critical condition, but
that was later downgraded to fair to moderate condition. Reports say
Ford suffered lacerations to his head and possible fractures.
The car belonging to Ford's wife Calista Flockhart was seen parked at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica.
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History: This isn't the first time
Ford has crashed an aircraft. He crash landed a helicopter in 1999
during a training flight. Ford and his instructor were only minorly
injured in the crash
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Sputtering noise: Witnesses heard
Ford's plane make a sputtering noise before he crash landed on the golf
course Thursday afternoon
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Older model: It's believed Ford was flying a Ryan PT-22 Recruit - a plane used to train pilots in World War II.
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Expert flyer: Friends who have flown
with Ford described the actor as a careful and experienced pilot.
However, this isn't the first time Ford has been involved in a crash.
HARRISON'S BRAVADO EQUALS THAT OF HAN SOLO AND INDIANA JONES
Harrison
Ford is as much the daredevil in real life as Han Solo, Indiana Jones
or the other larger-than-life characters he's played on the screen.
While
his fictional adventures in "Star Wars" and as bold archaeologist Jones
have thrilled audiences, the star has run into real-life danger - and
sometimes pain - while indulging in his love of aviation, fast driving
and the unpredictability of filmmaking.
On
Thursday, the actor's vintage plane crash-landed on a golf course in
Los Angeles shortly after taking off from a nearby airport. Ford, 72,
who had reported engine failure to air-traffic controllers, suffered
moderate injuries and was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Beyond
joy-riding in the skies, Ford also employs his skills as a pilot,
acquired in his mid-50s, to help in search-and-rescue efforts.
Here are a few of his closer brushes, some more dramatic than others, as well as heroic moments:
Ford is best known for his brave film characters Han Solo (left) from Stars Wars and Indiana Jones (right)
- The scar on his face that lends him a rakish look was earned, he's said, in "a mundane way." In 1964, he was speeding to a job at a department store in Orange County, California, when his car veered off the road and into a telephone pole as he fumbled for his seat belt.
- In 1999, Ford crash-landed his helicopter during a training flight in which he and an instructor were practicing auto rotations in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles. Ford and the instructor were unhurt.
- He used his helicopter in 2000 to pluck an Idaho Falls, Idaho, hiker off 11,106-foot Table Mountain in Teton County, Wyoming, and fly her to a hospital.
- One year later, Ford and another searcher helped find a missing Boy Scout in a forest south of Yellowstone National Park. "Boy, you sure must have earned a merit badge for this one," said Ford told the cold and hungry teenager after whisking him to safety by chopper.
- Ford was at the helm of a Beechcraft Bonanza in 2000 when wind shear forced him to make an emergency landing at Lincoln Municipal Airport in Nebraska. Ford and his passenger were uninjured when the plane clipped the runway and its wing tips were damaged, officials said.
- Last year, he was filming "Star Wars: Episode VII" in a studio outside London when a door of Solo's Millennium Falcon spacecraft fell and broke the actor's leg, requiring surgery on it. He recovered and returned to complete his work on the movie. (Associated Press)
Patrick
Butler of the Los Angeles Fire Department says he's responded to plane
crashes in the area before and says Ford is lucky to be alive.
'Normally
the outcomes are fatalities so yes we are very thankful that the
passenger, from what we hear right now, had moderate injuries,' Butler
said.
Butler said it appears Ford strategically picked the golf course to steer clear of people on the ground.
'It's an area that probably presented the least amount of impact to the community,' Butler said.
A
reporter for Daily Mail Online was at the scene and said the gold
course lawn was littered with wheel parts, snapped tree branches and
medical equipment used to treat Ford at the scene.
The
nose of the plane was completely destroyed and embedded in the ground,
the left wing completely broken and the right wing smashed where it hit a
tree.
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Patrick Butler of the Los Angeles Fire
Department says he's responded to plane crashes in the area before and
says Ford is lucky to be alive
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The assistant fire chief said it appears Ford strategically picked the golf course to steer clear of people on the ground.
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National Transportation Safety Board
investigator Patrick Jones speaks to reporters at a press conference
Thursday evening. He says an investigation into what caused the crash
may take several months
The golf course is just a block from the tarmac at Santa Monica Airport, where Ford keeps his collection of planes.
Neighbor Carlos Gomez, 39, told Daily Mail Online that he witnessed the aftermath of the crash.
'I
didn’t [know] who he was. I just saw the guy in the plane and people
try to help him and pull him out of the plane,' Gomez said. 'He was on
the ground and then the guy started moving and I was like good he is
alive.
Carlos said he didn’t hear engine trouble.
‘I just heard the big noise [The crash].'
Witness
Cynthia Madrid told local news outlets that it looked like the plane's
engine was 'sputtering' on and off while it was flying towards the
beach.
Madrid says she saw the plane start to go down but noticed there was no smoke.
It's believed Ford was flying a Ryan PT-22 Recruit - a plane used to train pilots in World War II.
The National Transportation Security Board is investigation.
Thursday's
crash comes just months after Ford was airlifted from the set of the
upcoming Star Wars movie after suffering an ankle injury.
Friends
who have flown with Ford described the actor as a careful and
experienced pilot. However, this isn't the first time Ford has been
involved in a crash.
Pilot: Ford knows how to fly both
fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Pictured above flying what appears
to be the same vintage plane last month