Harrison Ford was injured Thursday afternoon when his vintage single-engine airplane crashed on a golf course shortly after taking off from Santa Monica Airport.
The actor and private pilot reported engine failure and requested an immediate return about 2:25 p.m. PT, according to his conversation with air-traffic controllers. He failed to reach the runway, crash-landing instead on the approach to the 8th tee.
"Harrison was flying a WW2 vintage plane today which had engine trouble upon take off. He had no other choice but to make an emergency landing, which he did safely,'' Ford's publicist Ina Treciokas said in an emailed statement.
"He was banged up and is in the hospital receiving medical care. The injuries sustained are not life threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery," she said.
There was no fire. The open-cockpit plane was painted with vintage markings and looked as if it could have come from one of the movies in which Ford played adventurer Indiana Jones.
"Dad is ok. Battered, but ok!" Ford's son, Ben, a chef in Los Angeles, tweeted from the hospital. "He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man."
After I found out that Ford was okay I have to admit that my very next thought was "Damn I hope he already filmed all of his scenes for the new Star Wars movie." Because you know I am so selfless and every thing.
However I really was concerned, as Harrison Ford has been in some of my favorite movies ever, and I am a big fan.
But even that concern did not make me a little frustrated that almost half of yesterday's news was focused solely on this one incident. And that was after the first half of the day was focused on another plane mishap at LaGuardia Airport.
Look I think that both of these events were newsworthy and warranted some coverage, but not nearly the amount that they received.
Having said that once I learned that Harrison Ford was relatively okay, I thought back to this scene from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."
I know, I know, I'm going to hell.
Gryph, I so totally agree with you re: coverage yesterday. MSNBC had "breaking news" of the incident at La Guardia yesterday for a plane sliding off runway with no serious injuries to passengers or crew. Everyone exited the aircraft w/o incident. From the coverage, one would have believed that the plane crash landed, burst into flame, and everyone was killed - or that it slid into the water with same dramatic results. I know there must have been something else to discuss during the 3 hours devoted almost fully to this incident.
ReplyDeleteI saw a bit less of the coverage of the Harrison Ford's controlled crash landing, but still more than needed. If it had been anyone other than Ford, it would not probably have made the news except for a one-time mention. It appears that he piloted the craft safely to the ground ensuring that he missed the houses that I understand were so close by. I'm thankful that Ford is an excellent pilot and that he survived with non-lethal injuries.
I really fail to understand how the news people can spend hours on an almost non-event. Surely there is other news that can be shared. I finally turned the TV off as I simply could not listen to another retired pilot give their opinion of what happened in NY. The plane slid, it stopped safely, everyone exited the aircraft with only a few slightly injured, end of story.
Sorry, as you can see, the coverage yesterday was just over the top. I'm glad to see I wasn't alone in this thought. Thanks for letting me vent :)
There was video. That makes it news. (Celebrity and NYC don't hurt either)
DeleteI disagree with you. If it hadn't been Harrison Ford, a competent pilot ( of many aircraft) and a pilot instructor I think the news would have been much more, not less. Without a calm , cool, collected pilot this plane would NOT have been veered towards the golf course and there would have been deaths on the ground.
DeleteWhile I adore Harrison Ford's movies, a crash where nothing seemed newsworthy aside from the fact he's an actor, was news overkill. At least the Delta crash involved more than one person, qualifying it slightly higher in my newsometer scale. Disappointing with everything going on in the country and world that these two were what got news agencies attention.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. We were disappointed that CNN was covering HF's plane crash and didn't show Morgan Spurlock's show about the death of honey bee colonies. Seems that a movie star crashing a plane is more newsworthy than the death of worker bees that pollinate our food.
DeleteBuzzed off in BBistan
RJ
It was about as much "overkill" as Sully's river landing. You do realize that he veered the plane with a dead engine towards a golf course instead of a populated area don't you?
DeleteThen there was the Hillary private email issue:
ReplyDeletethis describes the issue quite well:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/state-department-reviewing-whether-clinton-e-mail-violated-security-rules/2015/03/05/16d1547e-c378-11e4-9271-610273846239_story.html?postshare=6641425608210628
"In 2000, he used his helicopter to rescue a stranded hiker; and a year later, he did the same for a missing boy scout. He also has piloted the chopper to help out on rescue missions during forest fires." - NY Daily News
ReplyDeleteGood man. Hope he'll recover quickly.
I cannot believe our media of today! Constant, repeat, saying the exact same thing on all of the channels. Harrison Ford's plane accidents - he is OK - we don't need continual coverage hour by hour on the crash. He survived!
ReplyDeleteThere are more important things in our world today that need 'real in depth' coverage by good journalist! Where are they? The best is Rachel Maddow, but MSNBC is no longer what it use to be, that is for sure!
No wonder I turn off my TV! Movies of 'my' choice are far better!!
My choice for in-depth coverage is Al Jezeera America found at channel 347 on DirectTV. MSNBC used to be my favorite for news and information, but it's not what it used to be. Still love Rachel though.
DeleteThen there was the snowgate and deflateballgate. It was frustrating and infuriating. The NFL and their various quandaries are not news, and this seemed to be covered FOREVER! It was very disappointing. I now have a huge crush on Rachel, as smart is so sexy whatever your gender or preferences. Still an MSNBC watcher, but sometimes CNN gets my views.
ReplyDeleteThe best people go to hell. Heaven is for boring repressed people
ReplyDeleteImmature is a word boring people use to describe fun people.
DeleteMy total media view time for the Harrison Ford plane situation:
ReplyDeleteread headline that there was a crash
read crawl (on BBC) that injuries are not life threatening
Media frenzy on non-stories has no impact on my life.
So, a filthy rich actor crashes one of his toys. Sad what passes for international news (or news period) nowadays.
ReplyDeleteYou're saying he doesn't deserve the wealth he has because, as an actor or similarly disparaged in your opinion profession, he didn't work *hard* enough?
DeleteAfter all, he didn't amass his wealth the acceptable way; by inheriting it and then buying and selling off companies and leaching off the work of others.
I suppose you'd also characterize Clint Eastwood as a filthy rich actor and his restaurant a toy. Oh, wait a minute! Eastwood is a REPUBLICAN.
Better than grifting your way through life with no talent whatsoever except fraud.
DeleteGee, my takeaway was an experienced pilot landed (OK, crash landed) his airplane, injuring no one on the ground, after advising air control of his problems,
DeleteWas this supposed to have been completely overlooked by the news media?
MarvinM
This plane crash by Harrison Ford, and media coverage of it, has recalled an unpleasant memory of plane crashes by another famous man--not because there's any comparison between the two men, but because of the way media tries to distort public perception.
ReplyDeleteSen. John McCain is widely criticized, among liberals at least, for crashing several planes during his military service.
McCain was a junior officer at the time, flying jet aircraft in service of his country. He succeeded in a bombing mission over Vietnam before he was shot down in his final crash.
Movie star Ford was attempting to pilot a restored WWII airplane, purely for his own amusement. He's held up as a hero, and likened to the fantasy roles he played on film, simply because no one was killed when he crashed.
Perspective is everything. The media tries to slant our perspective in this story. Ford played a hero in movies, but here he was an ordinary man pursuing a hobby.
McCain, as much as I disagree with his politics, risked his life repeatedly, flying aircraft with a lot more juice than the one Ford crashed in a state of panic on a short pleasure jaunt. McCain received honorable mention, for the most part, only among a small group of conservatives.
Kudos to this blog post for reaching a sensible balance between the sensational and the genuinely newsworthy.