Veteran actor Harrison Ford was hospitalized after being involved in a plane crash earlier this afternoon near Los Angeles. The vintage World War II plane went down on a golf course around 2:30pm, shortly after departing from the Santa Monica airport, but TMZ reports that Ford was alert and responsive when paramedics arrived on the scene.
The 72-year-old actor, who is an experienced flier, was stabilized and taken to a nearby hospital, where authorities originally reported his condition as critical before updating him to “fair to moderate” according to NBC. This news was later confirmed by Ford’s son, Ben, who Tweeted the following:
At the hospital. Dad is ok. Battered, but ok! He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man.
— Chef Ben Ford (@ChefBenFord) March 6, 2015
This isn’t the first time Ford has been involved in an aviation accident, with a previous helicopter crash back in 1998. “There was a mechanical failure while we were practicing power recovery autorotations,” he told National Geographic .”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.”
Sources indicate that Ford received a cut to his head, while an unidentified family member claimed he had “a few gashes” but was otherwise fine. Currently, there is no information on what caused the crash to occur, but it is not believed that Ford was impaired at the time of the accident.
After breaking his leg on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens last year, and now surviving a plane crash, it’s starting to seem like Ford is indestructible – which should be good news for fans who are eagerly awaiting the upcoming Blade Runner sequel. In the meantime, we’ll keep you posted on his recovery.