The World War II-era plane that Harrison Ford was flying when he crashed at a golf course near Santa Monica Airport last week experienced engine failure, necessitating a forced landing, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report on Tuesday.
According to the NTSB, the plane “sustained substantial damage following a loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing.”
Harrison, whose plane, a Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR, crashed at Penmar Golf Course shortly after takeoff, called in to Air Traffic Control prior to the crash, reporting “engine failure” and requesting an “immediate return” to the airport.
The “Star Wars” actor “initiated a left turn back towards the airport,” the NTSB’s report reads, but “the airplane subsequently struck the top of a tall tree prior to impacting the ground in an open area of a golf course, about 800 feet southwest of the approach end of runway 3.”
According to the NTSB, “the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage.”
Ford’s plane was recovered for further investigation, the board said.
The actor, an avid pilot, was involved in two accidents prior to the Mar. 5 crash. In 2000, he crashed a six-passenger plane in Lincoln, Nebraska, while the previous year he crashed a helicopter 60 miles outside of Los Angeles.
Ford, 72, was reported as being in “fair to moderate” condition following the crash. According to his publicist, he is expected to make a full recovery.
