Harrison Ford Injured in Plane Crash - NBCNews.com

By Andrew Blankstein

Actor Harrison Ford was injured Thursday when a vintage World War II training plane he was piloting crash landed on a Mar Vista, California, golf course.

The actor, who was conscious and breathing when rescue crews reached him, was stabilized and taken to a hospital, where he was in fair to moderate condition, authorities said. Sources said he sustained cuts to his head. There was no word on other injuries or what caused the plane to crash. It appeared he was flying solo.

Howard Tabe, an employee at Penmar Golf Course, said, "There was blood all over his face. ... Two very fine doctors were treating him, taking good care of him. I helped put a blanket under his hip."

The plane crashed on the eighth tee at the golf course just west of the airport shortly after takeoff from the Santa Monica Airport, according to Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration, NBC Los Angeles reported.

An avid flyer of both planes and helicopters, Ford was in a bad crash of a Bell chopper in 1999 Santa Clara, California. In 2008, he told National Geographic, "Well, there was a mechanical failure while we were practicing power recovery autorotations. It was more or less a hard landing. Luckily, I was with another aviation professional and neither of us was hurt — and both of us are still flying."

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending an investigator.

Reuters

Harrison Ford's plane on the ground Thursday at Penmar Golf Course in Mar Vista, California.

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M. Alex Johnson of NBC News contributed to this report.

First published March 5 2015, 3:36 PM

Andrew Blankstein

Andrew Blankstein is an investigative reporter for NBC News. He covers the Western United States, specializing in crime, courts and homeland security. Blankstein worked at the Los Angeles Times over two decades, much of that time covering breaking news, law enforcement and the justice system in Southern California both for the paper and latimes.com.

He was part of the team of journalists that earned the paper Pulitzer Prizes in 1998 for the North Hollywood shootout and in 2004 for the Southern California wildfires. In 2010, he was named a "Distinguished Journalist" by the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Blankstein graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a degree in history and a secondary emphasis on public law.

He joined NBC News in 2013 and is based in Los Angeles.

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