Harrison Ford nearly gave us all a heart attack again with his latest airplane drama
Harrison Ford is finding out one near-miss at a time that piloting a private vintage warbird ain't like dustin' crops.
Nearly two years after surviving a hard crash-landing of his single-engine 1942 Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR at the airport in Santa Monica, the actor formerly known as Han Solo accidentally flew directly over a loaded commercial jetliner in Orange County, California, when he mistakenly landed on a taxiway instead of a runway, according to NBC News.
No one was hurt and Ford safely landed his single-engine Husky -- a modern, American-made backcountry flier -- in the Monday afternoon incident. He could, however, have his pilot's license suspended after the Federal Aviation Administration completes its investigation.
According to NBC News, the 74-year-old had been properly told to land on runway 20-L at John Wayne Airport, but mistakenly aimed for a taxiway. Along the way he buzzed over a parked American Airlines 737, which was carrying 116 souls and departed safely just a few minutes later.
Ford was heard saying "Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?" on recordings captured by air traffic controllers, who then told him of his mistake. Honest mix-up or not, landing on a taxiway is a violation of FAA rules.
Ford may very well get away with just a warning here, but whatever the consequences, he made off far better than on March 5, 2015, when his World War II-era training aircraft lost power.
An experienced and highly regarded pilot who collects vintage planes, Ford was able to put that single-engine plane down on the fairway of a municipal golf course -- a move that won him hero's status for avoiding the dense residential areas all around -- breaking his arm and suffering minor head injuries in the process.
A rep for Ford did not immediately return a request for comment.
Topics Star Wars
Josh Dickey is Mashable's Entertainment Editor, leading Mashable's TV, music, gaming and sports reporters as well as writing movie features and reviews.Josh has been the Film Editor at Variety, Entertainment Editor at The Associated Press and Managing Editor at TheWrap.com.A finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club's Best Entertainment Feature in 2015 for "Everyone is Altered: The Secret Hollywood Procedure that Fooled Us for Years," Josh received his BA in Journalism from The University of Minnesota.In between screenings, he can be found skating longboards, shredding guitar and wandering the streets of his beloved downtown Los Angeles.
