Another Scary Plane Incident for Harrison Ford

Actor mistakes taxiway for runway
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 14, 2017 5:03 PM CST
Harrison Ford Involved in Another Scary Plane Incident
Harrison Ford opens the door on his plane for Jodie Gawthorp, of Westchester, Ill., who was selected to fly with Ford, at the Experimental Aircraft Associations AirVenture air show at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis., Thursday, July 28, 2016.   (Joe Sienkiewicz/The Oshkosh Northwestern via AP)

Perhaps it's time for Harrison Ford to consider a safer hobby? On Monday, the actor was landing his single-engine Husky aircraft at California's John Wayne Airport when he accidentally aimed for a taxiway instead of the runway he'd been instructed to land on, sources tell NBC News. As he landed, his plane went over the top of an American Airlines 737 that was in the process of departing the airport; it took off minutes after crossing paths with Ford's aircraft. The 737 was actually waiting for Ford's plane to land at the time; Ford was supposed to land on the runway in front of the 737, ABC 7 reports.

"Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?" Ford, 74, can be heard asking on air traffic control recordings of the incident. Controllers explained to Ford that, despite the fact that he'd read back the correct landing instructions he'd been given, he had mistaken the taxiway for the runway he was supposed to land on. The FAA is investigating; Ford's alleged actions violate FAA safety rules, and the organization could issue him a warning or go so far as to suspend his pilot's license. Ford, who collects vintage aircraft, crash-landed a World War II-era plane on a golf course in 2015 after the engine failed and crash-landed a helicopter in 1999 during a lesson. In 2000, another one of his planes was involved in an emergency landing. But NBC notes that the actor "is revered as an excellent pilot in aviation circles." (More Harrison Ford stories.)

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