Harrison Ford was injured when the World War II-era single-engine plane he was piloting crashed on a golf course near Santa Monica, California.
Ford, 72, was forced to make an emergency landing at Penmar Golf Course, just west of Santa Monica Municipal Airport, at 2:20 p.m. PST after the engine of the Ryan ST3KR plane he was flying failed, said NTSB and Los Angeles fire officials. He was taken to a nearby hospital in "fair to moderate" condition, said Patrick Butler with the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Ford was "banged up" and receiving medical care, said his publicist, Ina Treciokas, who described the actor's injuries as non-life threatening.
Ford reported engine trouble shortly after taking off from Santa Monica Municipal Airport and asked for an immediate return to the airport, said NTSB investigator Patrick Jones. He then reported that his aircraft came up short of the runway, according to air traffic controller transmissions from LiveATC.net.
The vintage airplane that Ford was piloting clipped a tree before crashing, said Jones.
Elaine Miller told ABC station KABC that the pilot was able to speak and "expressed that he was in pain." She and several others helped him out of the plane after it crashed.
"He had a significant head wound," said Miller. "He asked someone to hold his legs up, and people were just saying, 'you’re okay, the fire department is on its way,' and...once police and fire started to arrive, my friends and I sort of backed away and went to the other side of the course to give them room."
Harrison Ford just before the crash. Too bad. I was having a great game ???? #harrisonford #taylorma
Carlos Gomez, who lives across the street from the golf course, described the plane crash as sounding like a boom.
"I hear a lot of ambulances and I come outside and see people from the golf course pull a man from the plane," he said. "He was moving his arms and legs. I was happy he was alive and not paralyzed."
Mark Hamill, who is appearing alongside Ford in "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens," poked fun at his co-star's plane crash.
Glad to hear Harrison is doing well. Get well soon. May all his future flights be green-screen!
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) March 6, 2015
Ford's son tweeted that his father was "battered, but ok!"
At the hospital. Dad is ok. Battered, but ok! He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man.
— Chef Ben Ford (@ChefBenFord) March 6, 2015
Thank you all for your thoughts and good vibes for my dad.
— Chef Ben Ford (@ChefBenFord) March 6, 2015
The NTSB will recover the airplane Friday, said Jones.
An avid pilot, Ford told ABC's Barbara Walters in 2008 that he "loved the freedom of flight."
"I love the places you go," he said. "I love the people in aviation, the people that I meet in aviation. I love seeing the world from an airplane. I'm in love with flying."