Star Wars actor Harrison Ford had a potentially serious run-in with an airliner at a Southern California airport this week, landing his private plane on a taxiway after a dangerous error, flying directly above a passenger airliner in the process.
The actor narrowly escaped a crash, as he flew his private plane, near Southern California Airport and landed it on the taxiway after a dangerous mishap, reported The Telegraph.
The Indiana Jones actor was heard saying, “Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?”
Ford was then informed that he had not come down on the runway he had been instructed to land on, but on a taxiway, according to NBC News.
According to NBC, the incident has prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Authority which could result in penalties ranging from a warning to the suspension of his pilot’s license. Landing on a taxiway is a violation of FAA rules.
The plane Ford flew over was an American Airlines flight bound for Dallas with 110 passengers and six crew on board.
Ford is a flying enthusiast and a very experienced pilot but has survived more than one close call over the past two decades.
He crash-landed a helicopter in Ventura County, California in 1999 during a training flight with an instructor.
A year later Ford made an emergency landing in Nebraska in which a plane wing struck the runway and was damaged. He and his passenger were not hurt.
Finally, in 2015, he crash-landed on a California golf course after reporting severe engine failure on his vintage Ryan ST3KR aircraft.
Ford was seriously injured in the crash, breaking his arm and suffering memory loss. He was praised for avoiding densely populated areas nearby.
The actor has also flown successful search and rescue missions and been honoured by aviation groups.
He was flying alone in his single engine Husky during Monday’s incident, according to NBC.
