Harrison Ford: Star Wars, Indiana Jones star injured in LA plane crash
Updated
Actor Harrison Ford is "battered, but OK" after the World War II training plane he was piloting crash landed on a California golf course, his son has tweeted.
The TMZ website had reported that the 72-year-old Indiana Jones star suffered multiple gashes to his head and was left bleeding after his two-seater plane crashed on the Penmar Golf Course in Venice, Los Angeles.
Ford's son Ben tweeted from hospital that his "incredibly strong" father was all right.
"At the hospital. Dad is OK. Battered, but OK!" Ben Ford tweeted.
"He is every bit the man you would think he is.
"He is an incredibly strong man."
The Los Angeles police department did not identify Ford, but confirmed the crash of the plane.
"We can confirm that there was a plane crash and the male occupant was a 65-70-years-old man," police spokeswoman Nuria Vanegas said.
"He was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.
"The incident was reported at 2:25pm, it was mechanical failure of plane, that's what caused the accident."
Harrison Ford's publicist said the star was expected to make a full recovery.
"He was banged up and is in the hospital receiving medical care. The injuries sustained are not life-threatening and he is expected to make a full recovery," publicist Ina Treciokas said.
Assistant Los Angeles fire chief Patrick Butler said the plane struck a tree as it crashed onto the golf course.
The sole occupant of the plane was conscious and breathing following the crash and was initially tended to by bystanders before paramedics responded and transported him to a local hospital in "fair to moderate" condition, Mr Butler said.
Paramedics "initiated spinal mobilisation, started an IV and began all the necessary medical protocols that we do," he said.
The KTLA television station cited witnesses as saying Ford was helped out of the plane, and that he could use his legs.
It showed video footage of the plane, which gashed a stretch of grass on the golf course before coming to a halt.
Witness saw plane lose power before crashing
Carlos Lugo, 63, said he was playing golf at the golf course when he saw a plane he believed had taken off from nearby Santa Monica Airport lose power and turn around in an apparent attempt to return to the runway.
"When he flew over us we knew it was too late to make it back to the airport," Mr Lugo said.
The plane went through some trees and landed near the eighth hole at the golf course, he said.
Ford, known for playing intergalactic smuggler Han Solo in the original Star Wars films and for starring in the blockbuster Indiana Jones franchise, is a longtime aviation enthusiast.
Ford's former co-star in Star Wars, Mark Hamill, tweeted to wish the actor well, and said "may all his future flights be green-screen!"
Last June he broke his leg on the set of the new Star Wars movie at Pinewood Studios outside London.
The plane that crashed on Friday appeared to be a Ryan ST, which was used as a training plane in World War II.
Ford grew up in Chicago, Illinois. After dropping out of college where he took an acting class, he moved to Los Angeles in 1964 and signed a Hollywood contract with Columbia Pictures.
Ford's early roles in movies and television were minor, and discouraged, he turned to a career in professional carpentry.
He made a comeback in 1973 as Bob Falfa in American Graffiti, and four years later landed his breakout role as Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
Another four years later Ford was cast as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
The subsequent Star Wars and Indiana Jones sequels made him one of the biggest stars of the 1980s.
Ford received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his role as John Book in Witness in 1985, and in 1993 earned another Golden Globe nomination for his role as Dr Richard Kimble in The Fugitive.
ABC/wires
Topics: air-and-space, accidents, arts-and-entertainment, actor, united-states
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