Harrison Ford avoids action over near-miss plane landing

Hollywood star Harrison Ford is to avoid punishment over a near-miss at a California airport as he was piloting his private plane, his lawyer told AFP on Monday.

Ford, a seasoned pilot and vintage plane collector, was approaching John Wayne Airport in Orange County in February when he headed towards a taxiway rather than the runway, passing over a Boeing 737 with 110 passengers and six crew on board.

The 74-year- old ‘Indiana Jones’ star was captured on air traffic control recordings released subsequently by the Federal Aviation Administration calling himself a “schmuck,” and saying he had been distracted by two jets.

Ford’s lawyer Stephen Hofer, president of Santa Monica-based Aerlex Law Group, said in a statement the FAA had notified the actor that it had “closed its inquiry” into the Feb 13 incident.

“The FAA conducted a full investigation into the matter, including a n interview with Mr. Ford, and determined that no administrative or enforcement action was warranted,” Hofer told

“Mr. Ford retains his pilot’s certificate without restriction. In closing the matter, the agency acknowledged Mr. Ford’s long history of compliance with the federal aviation regulations and his cooperative attitude du r i ng

the me.”

The FAA prohibits aircraft landing on taxiways and sanctions for pilots found at fault can range from a warning letter to a suspension of their licence.

Ford suffered a broken arm and minor head injuries when he crash-landed a World War II plane on a Santa Monica golf course two years ago, after the carburetor failed.

He also crash-landed a helicopter during a flying lesson in Ventura County, California, in 1999 and, a year later, his Beechcraft Bonanza scraped the runway during an emergency landing in Nebraska.

A longtime aviation enthusiast, Ford owns several aircraft and claims more than 5,200 hours in his log book. He is certified to fly and land planes, seaplanes and helicopters, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. — AFP ‘AQUAMAN’ scriptwriter Will Beall is set to revive the classic monster movie ‘ The Creature From The Black Lagoon’.

Beall - whose previous work also includes ‘Gangster Squad’ and the TV series ‘Castle’ and ‘ Training Day’ - has been hired to re-tell the 1954 horror movie as part of the new Universal Monsters shared universe.

The film has been in development for some time with Gary Ross - whose father Arthur Ross wrote the original - heading up the process and it will be produced by Chris Morgan and Alex Kurtzman.

The original film - starring Julia Adams in the leading female role of Kay Lawrence - focused on a group of scientists on an expedition through the Amazon who discover a humanfish hybrid.

The Universal Monsters franchise is being kicked off with ‘ The Mummy’ - starring Tom Cruise and Russell Crowe - which hits cinemas in June and will be followed by remakes of the studio’s classics including ‘ The Invisible Man’, ‘ The Wolf Man’ and a movie focused on Dracula’s nemesis Van Helsing.

Universal’s creature features kicked off in the 1920s with Lon Chaney’s ‘ The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ and ‘ The Phantom of the Opera’. — BANG Showbiz