Harrison Ford has had one hell of a career. He’s played the eponymous archaeologist in Indiana Jones, cocky smuggler Han Solo in Star Wars, and Rick Deckard in both Blade Runner films – and that’s only scratching the surface of his 50 years in acting. Even so, those movies show that Ford has a history of starring in genre-defining, world-changing franchises that span decades and touch the lives of hundreds of millions of people.
When Ford isn’t acting, however, one of his best-known hobbies is aviation, an interest that started when he was young, leading to him having a life-long fascination with airplanes and helicopters. Unfortunately, he’s also been equally well-known for having mishaps while piloting his aircrafts – some of which were quite dangerous – leading to a lot of people feeling rather uncomfortable with the 77-year-old actor continuing to fly.
On April 24th, Ford was involved in yet another incident, this time at a southern California airport where the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) states he was piloting a small aircraft that crossed the runway where another aircraft was set to soon land. There was no danger of a crash, as the two planes were over 3,600 feet apart, but the incident was nevertheless an issue of safety protocols.
Now, Ford is taking full responsibility for the mishap, claiming that he misheard instructions from air traffic control. One of the actor’s representatives issued a statement to CNN, stating:
Mr. 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 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.
Whether Harrison Ford should be allowed to continue flying is up for debate at this point, but what isn’t up for debate is everyone’s unending desire to keep seeing the actor play his iconic heroes. Sadly, while Indiana Jones 5 has been confirmed to be moving forward, it’s been hit with a full year delay thanks to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Bummer.
