Harrison Ford (74) loves to fly and has his own collection of aircraft that he keeps at the Santa Monica Airport but he faces problems at times. In the latest instance, the Hollywood veteran underwent two failed attempts to take off in his Cessna aircraft and the probable reason is malfunction in one of the systems. He pilots his own planes because, while he is overage to be a commercial pilot which has a mandatory upper age limit, he has a license to fly as a private pilot.
Near misses of Harrison Ford
Daily Mail UK reports that Harrison Ford who is a vintage plane collector had been involved in several cases of near misses and is prone to accidents.
The last one happened in February and was it quite serious as there was a passenger plane involved. He almost crashed his single-engine plane into a Boeing 737 that was full of passengers. The incident took place at the John Wayne Airport in Orange County.
The Hollywood star had another one of his brushes with near death in 2015. The aircraft was one of his World War II-era airplanes and he crash-landed it on a Santa Monica golf course following an engine failure. The plane plunged and hit a tree during its descent. As a result of the accident, he sustained head injuries and a broken arm but was lauded for his presence of mind in keeping his cool and gliding his airplane into the crash-landing.
Even before that, he had crash-landed a helicopter in 1999 and the next year, it was an emergency landing at Nebraska's Lincoln Municipal Airport.
His passion for aircraft
Harrison Ford is scheduled to appear in the sci-fi sequel Blade Runner 2049 this year and, for that, he cleared a pilot's medical exam in January.
The Hollywood star is accident-prone and had injured himself on the ground too during filming “Star Wars: Episode VII”.
It related to the door of Solo's Millennium Falcon spacecraft which fell and broke Harrison Ford’s leg.
The Indiana Jones actor has a passion for planes and also for vintage cars. He began to take flying lessons when he was 52. He compares flying to good music because, in his opinion, it lightens the spirit. When one engages in the process of flying it is not only the thrill but the importance of staying focused and committed.
He is the proud owner of a wide variety of aircraft that are in his inventory. These include a 1929 vintage bi-plane, a fabric-covered two-seat bush plane, a helicopter, a long jet and a turboprop.
He has a ranch in Wyoming and his helicopter is, at times, used by local Search and Rescue crews to locate missing hikers.
