Silke Jasso
On Monday afternoon, actor Harrison Ford was involved in a passenger plane incident at a California airport shortly after noon Pacific Standard Time. He was acting as pilot on his private plane and was gearing up to land at John Wayne Airport near Orange County at the time of the occurrence.
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“Air traffic controllers cleared the pilot of a single-engine Aviat Husky to land on Runway 20L at John Wayne Airport Monday afternoon,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement to E! News. “The pilot correctly read back the clearance. The pilot then landed on a taxiway that runs parallel to the runway, overflying a Boeing 737 that was holding short of the runway. The FAA is investigating this incident.”
Ford, 74, was supposed to land on the runway, but mistakenly landed on the taxiway instead, which is in violation of FAA safety rules. He flew overtop of an American Airlines plane with 110 passengers onboard and a six-person crew. Luckily, the Dallas-bound aircraft was still able to take off within minutes after the incident.
While the actor was not injured, he was reportedly captured on air traffic control asking, “Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?”
As a result, the FAA is opening an investigation into the issue, which could cost Ford his pilot license if he is found at fault. Other punishments could include a suspension of his license or just a letter of warning. He has been involved in several piloting accidents in the past, including a 2015 crash in which he landed on a Santa Monica golf course after having engine trouble, causing him to suffer a few moderate injuries.
