You know that scene in Star
Wars where Harrison Ford’s character, Han Solo, rushes recklessly into the Death
Star hangar bay firing at random, only to be outrageously outmatched by the
legion of storm troopers waiting for him? I’m sure that’s how his friends feel
about the actor flying antique airplanes at 72.
Not that I don’t respect the man (quite the contrary), but
it almost gave me a heart attack the other day when I heard my childhood hero,
star of my favorite sci-fi movie franchise and Indiana frickin’ Jones himself,
might not survive a crash landing in a L.A. Golf course Thursday evening.
Of course, besides horror, one of my first thoughts was: Harrison
Ford flies airplanes?? And the answer is: YES. And he’s been doing it for a
loooonnnnnggg time…apparently. I suppose it’s not surprising. When you play the
dashing pilot of the fastest clunker of a ship in the galaxy, it’s bound to
give you a badass complex. The thing is – he might be a badass pilot in real
life after all.
Turns out he wasn’t just being stupid. The plane allegedly
started having mechanical issues right off the bat. Immediately after takeoff
he radioed in permission to land on the runway right away. He was approved –
but $#!+ hit the fan real fast. According to one article I read, the plane’s
engine stalled minutes after leaving the ground. Now this is a pre-WWII
barnstormer looking thing, so I’m guessing that’s not an easy problem to fix.
In fact, the article went on to say that the majority of pilots in that
situation would’ve attempted a maneuver that usually results in the plane
flipping upside down and a one-way ticket to a galaxy far, far away.
NOT HARRISON FORD.
Good old Indiana found a way to not only stay upright, but
direct the plane away from nearby residential areas. He aimed the nose of his
airplane at the fairway of a golf course and brought her down as best as he
could.
Allegedly the golfers in the area were pretty dazed (I
personally would be completely unphased if a bright yellow flying machine was
barreling at me from above), but they quickly got to work to make sure Solo
wasn’t alone. He made it to the hospital where he started out in critical
condition. That was later downgraded to serious, and now he’s stable according
to reports.
I heard today that Carrie Fisher publicly called for him to
stop being such a daredevil (He also broke his ankle last year while filming
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, which will be the best movie of 2015
even if it sucks) and this time I think I’m going to have to agree with
Princess Leia.
After all, we lost Robin Williams this year, and I don’t
think I can take another blow to my childhood self.
Rest up Harrison. Get better soon.
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