Septuagenarian actor Harrison Ford is reportedly recovering in hospital after a vintage World War II aircraft that was apparently being piloted by the Star Wars and Indiana Jones icon crash-landed into a Los Angeles golf course.
TMZ first broke the news of the crash, the site of which was the Penmar golf course in the LA suburb of Venice, pointing to previous photos of Ford, 72, piloting an identical craft to the one that crashed as corroboration of the star's involvement, since - as ABC reports - authorities were tight-lipped on unnecessary details, though police spokeswoman Nuria Vanegas did confirm that mechanical failure had caused the untimely descent.
"We can confirm that there was a plane crash and the male occupant was a 65-70-years-old man," Vanegas said. "He was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.
"The incident was reported at 2:25pm. It was mechanical failure of plane, that's what caused the accident."
Although earlier reports had variably described Ford's condition as "critical" and "serious", a recent NBC News update has indicated that he is in "a moderate and fair" state following hospitalisation, having sustained cuts to the head and unspecified other minor injuries.
Said LA assistant fire chief Patrick Butler: "We are very thankful that the passenger had [only] very moderate injuries."
Ford is an experienced aviator, and not just in the movies - he started flight training way back in the '60s, and has even been used by emergency services to assist with helicopter rescue missions. He was previously involved in another mechanical failure-induced crash - involving a Bell helicopter - in 1999, but he and his co-pilot were unhurt.
