Harrison Ford in stable condition after plane crash, expected to make 'full recovery'

Harrison Ford is now in stable condition after crashing his single-engine aircraft in Venice, Calif., on Thursday afternoon, according to People.

The plane went down near the Santa Monica airport on the Penmar Golf Course. Ford was the only person on board. Santa Monica City Commissioner Phil Brock told People that he sustained a head injury and was treated by doctors on the scene and then was rushed to a nearby hospital.

“Harrison was flying a WW2 vintage plane today which had engine trouble upon take off,” a rep for Ford said in a statement to EW. “He had no other choice but to make an emergency landing, which he did safely. He was banged up and is in the hospital receiving medical care. The injuries sustained are not life threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery.”

An eyewitness told People that Ford had engine failure during take-off from the Santa Monica Airport.

Santa Monica local Yurika Harris happened to be looking out the window Thursday afternoon as Ford’s plane streaked by overhead and could immediately tell by its altitude that the pilot was in trouble. “It was flying along near the tops of the trees,” Harris said. “I thought, ‘That looks too low. That plane looks like it’s going to crash!'”

Surveying the northern end of the golf course where the wreckage was being examined by Santa Monica police, her husband Ryan Harris added: “It was a masterful feat of airmanship. There are about eight trees nearby and he put it down without hitting any of them.”

Ford is a longtime aviator. The actor was previously involved in a 1999 helicopter crash in Santa Clarita, Calif., just north of Los Angeles, when his Bell 206 JetRanger failed to recover power in time during a training flight, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. While shooting Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Ford was so keen to maintain his aviation hobby that he joined the Shropshire Aero Club, so he could rent aircraft during his time in England.