Harrison Ford plane crash probe to take a year: officials

By Anees Hanif

-

Mar 07, 2015

Harrison Ford plane crash probe to take a year

AA

Resize

Ford, 72, was injured Thursday when his vintage aircraft suffered apparent engine failure and crash-landed on a golf course outside Los Angeles.

Patrick Jones, an official with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), told reporters in Venice, California that investigators were inspecting the wreckage as well as reviewing documents pertaining to the upkeep of the plane.

“The aircraft will be examined, the engine will be examined, the records of the aircraft will be examined and ultimately we’ll submit a factual report,” Jones said.

“All of that process is going to take probably a couple of weeks to a month or so,” the NTSB official said.

“The final report probably will not be out for a year.”

Experts said the aircraft he was flying was a World War II era two-seater plane that was more than 70 years old.

Jones said that the plane being as old as it is in many ways makes the investigation more straightforward.

“This aircraft is a fairly simple aircraft,” he said.

Firefighters and an aviation official remove the 1942 Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR plane that crashed onto a golf course and was piloted by US actor Harrison Ford in Venice, California on March 6, 2015. Hollywood star Harrison Ford was injured March 5, 2015 when the small plane he was flying suffered engine failure and crash-landed on a golf course outside Los Angeles, officials said. The 72-year-old “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars” actor suffered multiple gashes to his head and was left bleeding after the crash of the vintage two-seater plane. AFP PHOTO/ MARK RALSTON

“A lot of it is old-school mechanical. We’ll see what it is, we’ll look at everything.”

Ford, an aviation enthusiast with years of flying under his belt, flew out of Santa Monica Airport in the Ryan PT-22 Recruit when he experienced engine trouble just minutes into the flight. He was trying to return to the airport when he crashed.

Authorities said they have not yet had the opportunity to interview Ford, but plan to do so over the course of their probe.

The actor suffered multiple gashes to his head and was left bleeding after the crash.

A family spokesman said Ford’s injuries were not life-threatening. His son Ben, in a tweet late Thursday, said his father was “battered, but OK.”

One of the biggest names in Hollywood, the actor rose to fame as smuggler Han Solo in the blockbuster Star Wars movies.

He also played the lead in the popular “Indiana Jones” movies, as well as in a string of Hollywood hits — and misses — from the acclaimed “Witness” and “The Fugitive” to the panned “Random Hearts.”

AFP