EXCLUSIVE: Harrison Ford was criticized for his flying by official report into previous helicopter crash when he delayed crucial maneuver and aircraft flipped

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Harrison Ford's flying ability was called into question in an official report following his first aviation crash, Daily Mail Online can reveal.

The Hollywood star, who was rushed to hospital after crashing a vintage plane in Venice, California on Thursday, also slammed a helicopter into a riverbed back in 1999.

It is not believed that Ford, 72, is to blame for his latest - and what is his third - aviation incident at Penmar Golf Course near Santa Monica Municipal Airport, with early reports suggesting engine failure is at fault.

But an official report into Ford's October 1999 accident, obtained by Daily Mail Online, reveals it was caused by 'the pilot's delay in adding power during a power-on recovery'.

Ford had flown the helicopter from Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles 45 miles northwest towards Santa Clarita when he hit trouble.

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Full recovery: Ford was rushed from the scene bleeding heavily from a head wound, his injuries were described only as 'moderate' and he is expected to recover fully. Pictured, an aerial view of the crash

Rescue: Harrison Ford is treated at the scene of his crash in Venice, California, yesterday

Ford was practicing 'auto rotations' - an emergency landing technique that simulates engine failure.

He had completed one 'auto-rotation' but on his second he was 'late bringing in the power', according to the documents.

As a result, when Ford attempted to recover, the helicopter engine did not respond quickly enough and the aircraft began plummeting to the ground.

The unidentified flying instructor who was aboard with the actor was forced to take over the controls and try to level the helicopter but he was unable to do so and the aircraft came crashing down into the Lake Piru riverbed near Santa Clarita and flipped over.

Luckily Ford, and the unnamed instructor, were unharmed in the crash but the helicopter was 'substantially damaged', according to the document.

Coincidentally the helicopter was registered to MG Aviation – the same firm to which the 1942 vintage plane involved in Ford's latest crash is registered to.

The official report, which does not name Ford or his instructor, states: 'On October 23, 1999, at 1115 hours Pacific daylight time, a Bell 206-L4, N36R, landed hard and rolled over in the Lake Piru riverbed near Santa Clarita, California.

'The helicopter, operated by MG Aviation, Teterboro, New Jersey, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91, was substantially damaged.'

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) document goes on to say that the pilot reported that he 'successfully completed one practice autorotation and entered a second approximately 600 feet agl.'

It adds: 'When he attempted to recover power, the engine did not respond as quickly as anticipated and the helicopter settled hard into the soft creek bed.'

The certified flying instructor (CFI) flying with the Star Wars legend, reported that, 'the pilot had been late bringing in the power and he had gotten on the controls during the flare to help the pilot and level the helicopter.

'The pilot reported that when he realized there was a lack of power, he tried to push the nose over.

'Both the pilot and CFI applied full collective, and reported that there was not sufficient rotor rpm to effectively cushion the landing, causing the helicopter to land on the heels of both skids.

'The surface of the dry riverbed was mostly soft sand; the aft end of the left skid contacted a 12-inch-diameter log that was embedded within the riverbed.

Experienced: Harrison Ford at the controls of his helicopter in February last year

'The tip of the left skid nosed into the sand and the helicopter rolled over onto its left side.'

Tests carried out on the helicopter following the crash found 'no abnormalities' in the cockpit controls, engine or other parts of the aircraft.

The NTSB concluded that the accident was caused by, 'The pilot's delay in adding power during a power-on recovery from an autorotation, which resulted in a hard landing and rollover.'

It also pointed out that 'The flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight was also causal.'

Ford was not named in the official report but its timing and circumstances were identical to a report at the time by the respected Los Angeles Times that he had been involved in a helicopter crash.  

Ford's air mishaps didn't stop there.

Just over a year later Ford was involved in a second aviation incident, when he was forced to make an emergency landing at Lincoln Municipal Airport in Nebraska.

The six-seater Beech Bonanza aircraft was forced to land due to bad weather conditions and it clipped the runway damaging the wings.

Ford played down the two incidents at the time, telling Playboy magazine: 'They were more misadventures of a mechanical or weather-induced type.

'With my first helicopter, I had an issue with fuel control once, which resulted in substantial damage to the helicopter prop but no injuries to the two souls aboard. So that ended well.'

Ford is currently being treated in hospital where he is described as being in a 'fair to moderate' condition.

In audio of his conversation with air traffic control moments before Thursday's crash, a calm and collected Ford can be heard asking for an emergency landing as his engines had failed.

He could not make the runway at Santa Monica Airport so he chose to land the two-seater World War Two-era plane on a green at Penmar Golf Course.

Seasoned aviator: Ford, who has been flying planes since the 1960s, was the only person in the plane at the time of the crash 

Ford crashed into the Penmar golf course (left) after appearing to veer off course from the runway (right) in order to avoid homes in between

Witnesses described how the veteran actor was bleeding profusely from his face and he was rushed to hospital in a 'critical' condition but this was soon downgraded.

His son Ben Ford tweeted that he was 'battered, but ok'.

Fellow aviators have come out in praise of the star for managing to navigate the vintage plane away from the nearby residential area and on to an empty part of the golf course, with one experienced pilot stating 'everything he did was perfect'.