Harrison
Ford not disciplined by U.S. agency for pilot mishap
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[April 04, 2017]
By Steve Gorman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -
Actor Harrison Ford, the daring space pilot of "Star
Wars" fame, will get to keep flying airplanes in real
life after federal officials closed a probe of his
latest aviation mishap near Los Angeles without fines or
other discipline, his lawyer said on Monday.
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Ford, 74, came under investigation after he mistakenly flew
his single-engine private plane over an American Airlines
passenger jet and landed on a taxiway, rather than a runway, on
Feb. 13 at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana.
The Federal Aviation Administration determined at the conclusion
of its inquiry that "no administrative or enforcement action was
warranted," Ford's lawyer, Stephen Hofer said in a statement.
"Mr. Ford retains his pilot's certificate without restriction."
The actor, who played swashbuckling space smuggler and
Millennium Falcon pilot Han Solo in the "Star Wars" film
franchise, also was cited by the agency for his "long history of
compliance" with FAA regulations and "his cooperative attitude
during the investigation," Hofer said.
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Although Ford incurred no penalty, he agreed to undergo
voluntary "airman counseling" before the FAA closed the matter,
his lawyer said. It was Ford's second known misadventure in the
more than 20 years since becoming a licensed pilot.
In 2015, he crashed a vintage plane onto a golf course near a
Santa Monica airport, suffering serious injuries and badly
damaging the aircraft. He told investigators then he did not
recall the moments before the plane went down.
In addition to interviewing Ford following the Santa Ana
incident, investigators examined audio tapes of pilot and air
traffic control radio traffic, radar data and a
three-dimensional flight analysis.
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The actor was alone and at the controls of his Aviat Husky on a
landing approach when he errantly flew over a Boeing 737 preparing
for takeoff with 116 passengers and crew aboard, then landed his
plane on a taxiway parallel to the runway assigned him.
Ford was clearly embarrassed by the gaffe, according to radio
traffic, acknowledging to the tower, "I'm the schmuck that landed on
the taxiway."
An air traffic controller assures the film star that the mishap is
"no big deal."
Audio also revealed Ford had apparently been momentarily distracted
by an Airbus passenger jet landing just ahead of him.
The FAA declined comment on the case other than saying it had
completed an investigation of a Feb. 13 incident in which a pilot
landed on a John Wayne Airport taxiway.
Ford has logged more than 5,000 hours of flight time without being
subject to FAA discipline, Hofer said.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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