Arts & Entertainment
Harrison Ford Piloting Mishap Investigated By FAA
Ford was updating his pilot's license to participate in humanitarian missions when he defied the Hawthorne Airport control tower by mistake.
HAWTHORNE, CA — Actor Harrison Ford is again under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration after he apparently taxied across an airplane on a runway against the instructions of the tower operator at Hawthorne Municipal Airport.
Another other pilot was practicing touch-and go-landings Friday, when the tower operator told Ford to wait before crossing the runway. However, according to Ford's representative, the 77-year-old Star Wars actor misheard the order and went ahead. It's the latest in a series of piloting mishaps for the actor including a crash landing on a Santa Monica golf course that injured him in 2015.
According an official with the Federal Aviation Administration, Ford landed an Aviat Husky on the runway at the Hawthorne Municipal Airport, at 12101 Crenshaw Blvd. Friday afternoon. Ford then crossed the aircraft to the western end of the runway while another pilot was taking off about 3,600 feet east, the official said. There was no danger of a crash, according to the official, but the tower operator was alarmed since Ford crossed the runway after he told him, "Can you hold short on runway. Traffic on runway."
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Ford said he was "terribly sorry," for the misunderstanding, according to audio of the exchange.
A representative for the 77-year-old actor and pilot told TMZ, "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."
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Ford was updating his license to participate in more relief efforts and humanitarian missions, something he has used his pilot experience for in the past, TMZ reported.
"Over the years, he's flown humanitarian missions in Haiti, he's worked with Operation Smile, and has helped rescue stranded hikers in Wyoming," according to TMZ.
Ford was previously investigated by the FAA after he landed his private plane too close to a passenger jet at John Wayne Airport on Feb. 13, 2017. He did not face any administrative penalties or disciplinary actions as a result of the investigation.
City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.
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