Harrison Ford not disciplined by U.S. agency for pilot mishap

[webfact]

Harrison Ford not disciplined by U.S. agency for pilot mishap

By Steve Gorman

REUTERS

 

FILE PHOTO: Harrison Ford arrives at the European Premiere of Star Wars, The Force Awakens in Leicester Square, London, December 16, 2015. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo

 

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Harrison Ford, the daring space pilot of "Star Wars" fame, will get to keep flying airplanes in real life after federal officials closed a probe of his latest aviation mishap near Los Angeles without fines or other discipline, his lawyer said on Monday.

 

Ford, 74, came under investigation after he mistakenly flew his single-engine private plane over an American Airlines passenger jet and landed on a taxiway, rather than a runway, on Feb. 13 at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana.

 

The Federal Aviation Administration determined at the conclusion of its inquiry that "no administrative or enforcement action was warranted," Ford's lawyer, Stephen Hofer said in a statement. "Mr. Ford retains his pilot's certificate without restriction."

 

The actor, who played swashbuckling space smuggler and Millennium Falcon pilot Han Solo in the "Star Wars" film franchise, also was cited by the agency for his "long history of compliance" with FAA regulations and "his cooperative attitude during the investigation," Hofer said.

 

Although Ford incurred no penalty, he agreed to undergo voluntary "airman counseling" before the FAA closed the matter, his lawyer said. It was Ford's second known misadventure in the more than 20 years since becoming a licensed pilot.

 

In 2015, he crashed a vintage plane onto a golf course near a Santa Monica airport, suffering serious injuries and badly damaging the aircraft. He told investigators then he did not recall the moments before the plane went down.

 

In addition to interviewing Ford following the Santa Ana incident, investigators examined audio tapes of pilot and air traffic control radio traffic, radar data and a three-dimensional flight analysis.

 

The actor was alone and at the controls of his Aviat Husky on a landing approach when he errantly flew over a Boeing 737 preparing for takeoff with 116 passengers and crew aboard, then landed his plane on a taxiway parallel to the runway assigned him.

 

Ford was clearly embarrassed by the gaffe, according to radio traffic, acknowledging to the tower, "I'm the schmuck that landed on the taxiway."

 

An air traffic controller assures the film star that the mishap is "no big deal."

 

Audio also revealed Ford had apparently been momentarily distracted by an Airbus passenger jet landing just ahead of him.

 

The FAA declined comment on the case other than saying it had completed an investigation of a Feb. 13 incident in which a pilot landed on a John Wayne Airport taxiway.

 

Ford has logged more than 5,000 hours of flight time without being subject to FAA discipline, Hofer said.

 

(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-04

[55Jay]

I didn't see it at first because of the angle, but indeed, he flew right over the front half of the 737 holding short of 20L where Harrison Ford was cleared to land.... but landed on the taxi way instead.

 

These things happen from time to time, including with the airlines, but old Captain Hans Solo might be getting close to hanging up his spurs.  He didn't, apparently was flying a Cessna Citation (jet) the next day. 

[tuktuktuk]

Kind of reminds me of the way things work in Thailand. 

[Andaman Al]

It has happened just like this many many times. Large passenger aircraft have landed on taxiways by mistake at night. As long as the pilot concerned knows what happened, why it happened and what to do to prevent it happening again then it is no big deal. It will have helped Harrison with his immediate confession on the taxi-way to air traffic saying "i'm the schmuk that landed on the taxi-way. At some international airports those taxi-ways are huge when you are in a small light aircraft. I do not think there was any danger to other aircraft in the incident.

[Sphere]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Harrison Ford not disciplined by U.S. agency for pilot mishap

 

Phew...that's a relief....I was beginning to worry he wouldn't be able to shoot for Star Wars Episode MCMXXIIVII....

 

 

 

 

 

[TheFishman1]

I like the guy

[Skeptic7]

Was Ford's 3rd incident. Crashed a helicopter in '99, no injuries but serious damage to the copter. Crashed a small plane into a golf course in 2015, where he was seriously injured and now this one. Even swashbuckling starship pilots gotta know when to hang it up! 

[Fore Man]

There's old aviators and bold aviators, but no old and bold aviators...as the old adage goes. For you posters worried about Ford's ability to fly safely:  no worries, he'll eventually fail to pass his medical certificate and a long career as an airman will be ended.

[malibukid]

any landing you can walk away from is a good landing

[hawker9000]

There are some airports with parallel runways that are not at all alike; one large, wide, long, well marked runway for commercial traffic and one much smaller one used for light local traffic that might have faded markings and not be a lot larger than a taxiway.  The tipoff probably should've been the airliner sitting crosswise at the end.  I'm kind o' surprised that the tower controller didn't catch that he was lined up improperly and wave him off.