Cause found for actor’s plane crash
A report ties actor’s accident to a problem with the plane engine
Harrison Ford’s vintage plane probably crashed because of a carburetor problem that caused the engine to lose power, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report.
Harrison Ford’s vintage plane probably crashed because of a carburetor problem that caused the engine to lose power after taking off from Santa Monica Airport, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released Thursday.
The problem part was found separated from its mounts, and the threads holding the crucial piece of the carburetor together appeared to be rounded off.
The NTSB report said the carburetor’s main metering jet controls the plane’s fuel flow, providing “a constant mixture ratio over the cruising range of engine operating speeds.”
The carburetor was last checked in 1998, when the plane underwent extensive restoration and an engine overhaul. But the carburetor’s manuals didn’t offer “pertinent instructions regarding installations or continued maintenance of the jet assemblies,” the report stated.
Ford told federal investigators that his plane lost power March 5 after taking off from the airport; it crashed on a golf course as he was trying to get back to the facility.
The actor was seriously hurt, but no one on the ground was injured.
Ford told investigators he did not remember the actual crash but relayed what happened in the moments before.
“The pilot reported … the engine experienced a loss of power. He stated that he did not attempt an engine restart but maintained an airspeed of 85 mph and initiated a left turn back toward the airport; however, during the approach, he realized that the airplane was unable to reach the runway,” the report said.
“Subsequently, the airplane struck the top of a tree that was about 65 ft tall, and then impacted the ground in an open area of a golf course,” the report said.
The study confirms many details in a preliminary report by the NTSB published in March.
Best known for his roles in the “Star Wars” and the Indiana Jones movies, Ford crash-landed in a clearing about 800 feet southwest of the airport runway.
The small yellow-and-silver monoplane was built in 1942. That type of aircraft served as a primary trainer for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.