Harrison Ford praised for crash landing stricken plane away from homes

Harrison Ford, who made his name flying the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars, was hailed for his real life piloting skills as he survived a plane crash and averted disaster by steering his aircraft clear of houses.

Mr Ford, 72, was flying a vintage Second World War trainer when the engine failed moments after take-off, sending him plummeting to the ground in a residential area of Los Angeles.

Witnesses described how he veered away from homes and clipped a tree as he hit the ground just short of the eighth tee at Penmar municipal golf course, a stone's throw from a quiet cul-de-sac.

Golfers, including two off-duty doctors, rushed to the downed plane and pulled out the actor who was bleeding from his head.

_{^{Harrison Ford pictured in the same plane on February 27th (FameFlynet)}}

Elaine Miller, one of the golfers, said he was "in pain". She said: "He had a significant head wound. He asked someone to hold his legs up and people were just saying 'You're OK, the fire department is on its way.'"

Paramedics strapped the actor to a spinal board and took him to hospital where he was described as in "moderate to fair" condition.

Mr Ford had taken off alone in the two-seater 1942 Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR from Santa Monica Airport at 2.20pm.

He then made a tense and rushed call to air traffic control saying: "Engine failure. Request immediate return."

He went quiet and a controller could soon be heard saying: "Looks like it (the plane) was short of the runway."

Paul Crumm, a pilot who uses the same airport, saw Mr Ford's plane much lower than it should have been and dipping below the tree line.

He told CNN: "I didn't hear the engine. It was definitely not there at that point. His engine was no longer effective so he couldn't keep going. In a situation like that Mr Ford did everything right."

_{^{The Hollywood actor Harrison Ford in London in 2013 (Reuters)}}

Paul Mitton, producer of Just Another Pilot, a documentary featuring Mr Ford, said: "Harrison is an extremely good pilot. Had he got a little further he would have been over suburbia and the outcome would have been very different and less happy. He did an incredible job of missing the trees (on the golf course)."

One resident said: "I heard the engine stop and he turned around when he was near the houses. I think it's amazing he made it back. He must be a very good pilot not just acting it well."

The plane came down between a line of tall trees and the golf course's perimeter chain fence.

On impact the nose buckled and the propeller ploughed into the ground. One of the yellow wings appeared to have snapped at the base. There was a 15ft long furrow behind the aircraft and one of the wheels had come off.

Jeff Kuprycz, who was playing golf, saw the plane about 200ft off the ground and dropping.

He said: "Immediately you could see the engine started to sputter and just cut out and he banked sharply to the left. He ended up crashing around the eighth hole. There was no explosion or anything. It just sounded like a car hitting the ground or a tree."

Howard Teba, who works at the golf course, said he heard a "thud" and later put a blanket under Mr Ford's hip.

He told the Santa Monica Daily Press: "There was blood all over his face. He had a massive gash on his forehead."

^{Calista Flockhart looked visibly upset the day after the crash (Splashnews)}

Residents have previously demanded the closure of Santa Monica Airport over safety concerns and Mr Ford has been prominent in the campaign to keep it open, donating tens of thousands of dollars.

It is used regularly by aircraft enthusiasts such as Mr Ford, and also by Hollywood stars travelling by private jet.

In July 2010 a pilot died after his single engine Cessna crashed on the Penmar golf course, also near the eighth hole.

Patrick Jones, an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, said Mr Ford was "absolutely" lucky to have survived.

He said: "The pilot is an experienced pilot. The pilot reported a loss of engine power and was attempting to return to the airport. It appears he clipped the top of a tree and came to a rest on the golf course. I'm sure the pilot was glad there was a golf course here."

^{The scene of the crash at the Penmar Golf Course (Getty)}

Patrick Butler, Los Angeles assistant fire chief, described Mr Ford has having been "alert, talking and breathing" after the crash.

A spokesman for the actor said in a statement: "Harrison was flying a WW2 vintage plane today which stalled upon take-off. He had no other choice but to make an emergency landing, which he did safely. The injuries sustained are not life-threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery."

Mr Ford has been a pilot for at least two decades and owns about a dozen planes.

^{Harrison Ford as Han Solo flying the Millennium Falcon (Alamy)}

Christian Fry, of the Santa Monica Airport Association, said: "I would say that this is an absolutely beautifully executed, what we would call, a forced or emergency landing, by an unbelievably well-trained pilot."

His off-screen life is filled with almost as many thrills and spills as the characters he portrays on film.

In 1999 he crash-landed a helicopter during a training flight near Los Angeles and was unhurt.

The following year high winds forced him to make an emergency landing of a plane in Nebraska. The plane clipped the runway and its wing tips were damaged.