Harrison Ford is reportedly not letting his shock plane crash set him back, with the daredevil aviator determined to take to the sky again.
Harrison, 72, was rushed to hospital on Friday after the vintage WWII-era 2-seater fighter plane he was piloting, crashed into a golf course in the Venice area of California.
“He was moaning and in pain,” spinal surgeon Sanjay Khurana, who just happened to be on the golf course at the time of the crash, told America’s ABC News. “He was stunned a bit.”
“It was obvious by his face, it was Harrison Ford,” Dr Khurana continued. “I’m old enough, or young enough, to have watched all his Star Wars films. So, it was obvious.”
An employee at the Penmar Golf Course, where the accident occurred told NBC: “There was blood all over his face … Two very fine doctors were treating him, taking good care of him. I helped put a blanket under his hip.”
NBC News reported that the Indiana Jones star suffered “lacerations to the head and possible fractures”.
Harrison’s son, Ben, later posted on Twitter, “Dad is OK. Battered but ok! He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man.”
The scene of the crash at Penmar Golf Course in Los Angeles.
Harrison’s wife Calista, 50, is reportedly determined that the Star Wars actor give his legendary passion of flying a rest in light of the recent incident.
“Calista is devastated. Thank goodness Harrison is OK but it could have been much, much worse,” a source reported to be friend of the actress told the UK’s Mirror.
“It is a worry for her and his children that ‘Whether or not he will pilot a plane again remains to be seen but everyone around him certainly hopes he will take a break – or give it up for ever. It is obviously a huge worry.”
Another source told the UK’s Express that Calista discussed it with Harrison in hospital: “As she held his hand in hospital, he told her the best thing he could possibly do was fly again as soon as possible.”
“Calista told him he shouldn’t even be thinking about that yet but he said it was like falling off a horse or a bike when the best thing you can do is get back on, or in his case up, as fast as you can.”
Harrison and Calista on the red carpet earlier this year at the Golden Globes.
While the accident was a shock for all those involved, experts have since praised Harrison’s flying skills for landing the plane as safely as possible, swerving away from houses after the engine gave out.
“I would say that this is an absolutely beautifully executed — what we would call — a forced or emergency landing,” said Christian Fry of the Santa Monica Airport Association.
Eddie Aguglia, another golfer who was playing on the course at the time, told NBC News: “Looking at where he crashed and how the plane went down, I’m sure there was a moment where he said, ”I’m not going to risk lives, whatever happens, happens. It’s going to be just me.”’
Harrison’s close friend and former Star Wars co-star Carrie Fisher probably put it best though when, in an interview with People magazine, she said that, “I fully expect he will be back up there soon – even if he’s told he’s not allowed to. Harrison isn’t someone who follows the normal rules.”
Harrison has been involved in a plane crash before, which obviously didn’t prevent him from taking to the skies again. While piloting a Bell 206L4 LongRanger helicopter on a routine training flight over Lake Piru in California, the helicopter lost power and hit the ground hard. Both Harrison and his instructor pilot escaped serious injury although the helicopter was badly damaged.
Speaking about the incident in 2008, he told National Geographic, “Well, there was a mechanical failure while we were practicing power recovery autorotations. It was more or less a hard landing. Luckily, I was with another aviation professional and neither of us was hurt — and both of us are still flying.”
