Federal authorities today confirmed that Harrison Ford’s vintage aircraft crashed last week after it lost power, which forced him to land at Penmar Golf Course in Venice shortly after takeoff from Santa Monica Airport.
The preliminary report released this morning by the National Transportation Safety Board said the actor’s plane “sustained substantial damage following a loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing …”
The airport “controller reported that following takeoff from runway 21, the pilot advised of an engine failure and requested an immediate return to the airport,” the report said.
“The pilot initiated a left turn back toward the airport; the airplane subsequently struck the top of a tall tree prior to impacting the ground in an open area of a golf course, about 800 feet southwest of the approach end of runway 3. …”
Ford is continuing to recover from injuries he suffered when his single- engine Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR lost power and crashed on Penmar Golf Course in Venice about 2:20 p.m. Thursday. This type of aircraft was used to train Americans and pilots from other Allied countries before and during World War II.
