Harrison Ford blames ‘distraction’ for near-miss with jet

Harrison Ford told air traffic controllers that he was distracted when he almost landed his plane on top of an airliner at a Florida airport.

The actor called himself “the schmuck who landed on the taxiway” shortly after the incident on February 13, according to recordings of Ford’s conversations with air traffic controllers, which were released by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Associated Press identified the pilot in the recordings as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones star.

In the recordings, the 74-year-old asks, “Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?”. He goes on to say “Oh, [indicipherable] I understand now, sorry for that.”

In a separate recording of a phone call Ford made after the incident to an air traffic controller, the actor said he was distracted by the airliner and “big turbulence” from a nearby Airbus. The controller warns him that it’s a “possible pilot deviation.”

Neither aircraft were harmed and the American Airlines jet took off shortly afterward. But during the discussion with air traffic controller, when the controller advised him it wasn’t a “big deal” to rush to get the number on his pilot’s licence, Ford replies, “It’s a big deal for me.”

In another conversation between Edward Patton, the American Airlines pilot involved, and air traffic control, a controller says that Ford had not been in a “good position,” with what appeared to be less than 100 feet of clearance between his single-engine plane and the American Airlines flight.

Ford is an experienced pilot and collector of aircraft. He was injured in March 2015 when his vintage plane crashed on a Los Angeles golf course.

Would you be nervous of flying in a small airplane, or have you done so and enjoyed it?