Years ago, the star was already preaching the merits of safety and precaution.
Even before his recent crash-landing of his vintage World War II single-engine plane in Venice, Calif., Harrison Ford was preaching the merits of safety and precaution when flying.
The 72-year-old actor is an accomplished pilot, and has played a pilot in a number of films including The Expendables 3, Six Days Seven Nights and the original Star Wars trilogy.
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Ford even starred in two films involving miraculous escapes from plane crashes. In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom he uses an inflatable life raft to escape from a plane that is set to crash into a mountain range. In the romantic drama Six Days Seven Nights, the plane Ford is piloting crashes onto a remote island, leaving him and his passengers stranded.
In 1999, ET talked to Ford about being cautious while flying. The star said, "You just forewarn yourself against the potential, which is always there, for an accident."
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Thursday's incident occurred at around 2:30 p.m. at a golf course near the Santa Monica airport, shortly after the star took flight. Moments after the crash occurred, Ford radioed the control tower, and ET obtained the audio from Air Traffic Control.
Ford explained that he had suffered "engine failure" and requested "immediate return." When the Los Angeles Fire Department arrived on the scene, witnesses had helped pull Ford from the damaged plane, and the actor was rushed to the hospital.
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Ford's son Ben later tweeted an update on his father's condition, saying: "Dad is ok. Battered, but ok! He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man."
The actor's rep also issued a statement to ET, saying, "The injuries sustained are not life threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery."
