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The 72-year-old star of such blockbuster films as "Star Wars"
and "Raiders of the Los Ark" was the sole occupant of the 1942
single-engine Ryan Aeronautical ST-3KR when it went down on a
golf course near the Santa Monica Municipal Airport.
Ford had just taken off from the airport on March 5 when he
experienced a loss of power at about 1,100 feet (335 meters),
according to the report, which was published in the Los Angeles
Times.
"(The pilot) stated that he did not attempt an engine restart
but maintained an airspeed of 85 mph (137 kph) and initiated a
left turn back toward the airport; however during the approach
he realized that the airplane was unable to reach the runway,"
an NTSB investigator said in the report.
"The pilot did not recall anything further about the accident
sequence," the investigator said. "Subsequently, the airplane
struck the top of a tree that was about 65 feet (20 meters) tall
and then impacted the ground in an open area of the golf
course."
The crash, which saw the actor's plane come down a short
distance from houses, follows years of complaints by residents
in the heavily populated beachside community outside Los Angeles
that the airport interferes with their quality of life.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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