Harrison Ford suffered head injuries and a broken armThursday when he crashed his vintage World War II plane into a Los Angeles golf course, authorities said.
The 72-year-old veteran aviator was piloting the yellow craft when he crash-landed on the Penmar Golf Course in Venice, Calif., around 2:25 p.m. local time after reporting engine failure.
“There was blood all over his face,’’ golf-course worker Howard Tabe told NBC News. “Two very fine doctors were treating him, taking good care of him. I helped put a blanket under his hip.’’
A maintenance worker said Ford banked his craft to avoid hitting anyone on the course.
“We saw the plane coming down,” said the worker, Luis Rivera. “The course was packed with golfers. You could tell the pilot saw them and maneuvered to avoid them.”
The “Star Wars” actor, who will reprise his Han Solo role in an upcoming sequel, was flying solo at the time. He suffered head gashes and a broken arm when he slammed into the plane’s console, according to NBC News.“We are very thankful that the passenger had very moderate injuries,’’ said LA Assistant Fire Chief Patrick Butler.
“These generally turn out quite dramatic, but we report that the patient left the scene conscious and breathing.”
Ford was rushed to UCLA Medical Center, where his son said he was recovering.
“Dad is ok. Battered, but ok!” Ben Ford tweeted. “Thank you all for your thoughts and good vibes for my dad.
Ford’s publicist said that Harrison had no choice but to make an emergency landing and that he is expected to make a full recovery.
Mike Bonin, an LA City Council member who has lobbied to close Santa Monica Airport — where Ford took off — told NBC, “Thank God that this incident happened on a golf course, where there’s a relatively open space.” Golf-course worker Tabe added, “We saw this beautiful plane. It looks like a plane I see often, leaving from Santa Monica Airport. Must have hit the top of a tree.”
Aerial footage showed the two-seater craft on the ground as paramedics lifted a stretcher into an ambulance.
The plane went down soon after taking off , said Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration.
This isn’t the first time Ford has been involved in an air crash.
He was in a wreck in 1999 while flying a Bell helicopter over Santa Clara, Calif. An adventurer on screen and off, Ford has often gushed about his aerial exploits.
“I love the freedom of flight. I love the places you go. I love the people in aviation, the people that I meet in aviation,” he told Barbara Walters in 2008.
