Actor Harrison Ford called himself a "schmuck" and said he was "distracted" after he mistakenly landed his private plane on an airport taxiway, an audio recording has revealed.
The star of Indiana Jones and Star Wars narrowly avoided a passenger plane carrying 116 people during the mishap at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, the US.
“I’m the schmuck that landed on the taxiway,” Ford told an air traffic controller after the incident on February 13th.
“I was distracted by the airline which was in movement when I turned to the runway and also the big turbulence by the landing Airbus.”
The air traffic controller is heard telling Ford (74) to take his time finding his pilot’s licence, adding that it is “no big deal”.
“It’s a big deal for me,” Ford replied.
The audio recording was released by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is investigating the incident.
Landing on a taxiway instead of a runway is a breach of FAA regulations.
Video
A video released last month showed Ford's Aviat Husky plane as it descended towards the airfield where an American Airlines Boeing 737 was slowly taxiing.
“Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?” Ford asked the air traffic control tower as he landed in the wrong spot.
“Oh. I landed on Taxiway Charlie. I understand now. Sorry for that,” he added.
Ford was also involved in a serious incident in March 2015 when his private plane crashed on a Los Angeles golf course after engine failure.
PA
