Harrison Ford Under FAA Investigation After Airplane Runway Incident

By Ellise Shafer

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Harrison Ford is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration after an incident that occurred on a runway at Los Angeles’ Hawthorne Municipal Airport on April 24.

The FAA said in a statement to Variety that the 77-year-old actor was piloting an airplane that crossed the runway as another plane tried to land, putting the aircrafts only 3,600 feet apart.

“The FAA is investigating an incident in which the pilot of an Aviat Husky taxied across the runway at Hawthorne Municipal Airport Friday afternoon while another aircraft was performing a touch-and-go landing,” a spokesperson for the FAA said.

In a statement to Variety, a representative for Ford explained that the incident was due to a miscommunication from Air Traffic Control and that there was little danger involved.

“Ford crossed the airport’s only runway in his aircraft after he misheard a radio instruction from ATC. He immediately acknowledged the mistake and apologized to ATC for the error,” the rep said. “The purpose of the flight was to maintain currency and proficiency in the aircraft. No one was injured and there was never any danger of a collision.”

In an audio clip from the air traffic control provided by the FAA, Ford can be heard misunderstanding the instruction and then apologizing.

“I told you to hold short. You need to listen up,” the air traffic control said to Ford after he began crossing the runway.

“Excuse me, sir, I thought exactly the opposite. I’m terribly sorry,” Ford responded.

Ford made headlines in 2017 for a similar incident at John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, Calif., in which his Aviat Husky nearly collided with a 100-passenger Boeing 737 and proceeded to land on the wrong part of the tarmac. Ford was investigated by the FAA, but allowed to continue to fly without restriction, provided that he completed an awareness training, which he did.

In 2015, Ford made an emergency landing on Santa Monica’s Penmar Golf Course after his two-seater WWII military aircraft had a carburetor issue. Ford sustained several injuries, including a broken pelvis and ankle.