Harrison Ford Has Been Cleared by FAA in Runway Investigation

Harrison Ford at the Premiere of The Call of the Wild in feb 2020
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

The actor was involved in a runway incursion while flying his plane in April.

Harrison Ford has been cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration after they investigated a runway incursion he was involved in while flying his plane back in April.

"The FAA has closed the case involving the pilot who crossed a Hawthorne Municipal Airport runway without authorization on April 24, 2020," the FAA said in a statement to ET. "The FAA required the pilot to take a remedial runway incursion training course. When the pilot successfully completed the course, the FAA closed the case with no additional action."

According to the recorded conversation between the 78-year-old actor and air traffic control at Hawthorne Airport in California that was recorded at the time of the incident, an operator asks Ford to "hold short on runway" because there is traffic. The operator then scolds Ford after he doesn't do as told, and Ford apologizes.

"Excuse me, sir, I thought exactly the opposite, I'm terribly sorry," Ford says.

ET learned at the time that the Aviat plane Ford was piloting crossed the western end of the runway while the other aircraft was taking off approximately 3,600 feet to the east. In April, a rep for the actor told ET in a statement that while Ford misheard radio instruction, there was never any danger of a plane collision.

"Actor and pilot Harrison Ford was involved in a runway incursion April 24th at the Hawthorne Airport," the statement read. "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."

Meanwhile, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson told ET at the time, "The FAA is investigating an incident in which the pilot of an Aviat Husky taxied across the runway at Hawthorne Municipal Airport ...while another aircraft was performing a touch-and-go landing."

This wasn't the first time Ford had been under investigation by the FAA. In February 2017, Ford flew over a passenger plane at a California airport and then landed on a taxiway instead of the runway. The actor wasn't fined and didn't lose his pilot's license as a result of the incident.

In 2015, Ford also crashed his World War II-era single-engine plane at a golf course in Venice, California -- about 1,000 feet from the runway at Santa Monica Airport, where he initially took off -- though it was due to engine failure. The actor said he suffered from amnesia after the crash during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

"I remember the engine stopping, I remember that part very well," he recalled. "I remember telling the tower what I was going to do and I remember their suggestion. Their suggestion was that I take the normal route to land and I knew that I wasn't going to do that. So I said 'no.'"

"And that's the last thing I remember until five days afterwards," he continued. "I'm told by the doctors that the amount of general anesthetic that I received … gave me retrograde amnesia."

In April 2017, Ford poked fun at his flying mishaps during his surprise appearance at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Florida. Watch the video below for more.

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