Harrison Ford Faces No Penalties After Close Call With Passenger Plane

The actor mistakenly landed his plane on a taxiway instead of a runway in February.
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Harrison Ford will not face a fine or any other penalty after an incident involving an American Airlines passenger plane.

In February, the “Star Wars” actor was flying his plane and meant to land on runway 20-Left at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. Instead, he mistakenly landed on a taxiway where an American Airlines plane carrying 110 passengers and six crew members was preparing to taxi to takeoff. No one was injured, but Ford flew so closely over the commercial aircraft that American Airlines formally notified the Federal Aviation Administration, NBC News reported. An investigation was launched into the incident.

In a statement on Monday, Ford’s lawyer Stephen Hofer said that the FAA had completed its investigation and found that “no administrative or enforcement action was warranted,” USA Today reports. “Mr. Ford retains his pilot’s certificate without restriction.”

The Orange County Register reported that landing on a taxiway instead of a runway was in violation of the FAA’s safety rules, and pilots could face penalties ranging from warnings to fines to revoked licenses.

The FAA also confirmed in a statement that it had completed its investigation and would not further comment on the matter. It had released an audio recording last month of an exchange with an air traffic controller following the incident in which the 74-year-old called himself a “schmuck” for landing on the taxiway.

Ford, a vintage plane enthusiast, made headlines in 2015 after he crash-landed a World War II-era single-engine plane on a golf course near Santa Monica Municipal Airport. The plane suffered a mechanical malfunction and Ford was injured in the accident.

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