Harrison Ford’s plane crash was caused by engine failure related to a loose part… the National Transportation Safety Board announced Thursday.
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The NTSB said the last recorded maintenance work on the carburettor was 17 years earlier, and that the jet had likely become loose over time. The unseated jet would have allowed an increased fuel flow through the main metering orifice, producing an extremely rich fuel-to-air ratio, which would have resulted in the loss of engine power. His injuries were never detailed. The pilot’s shoulder harness was installed by mounting the end of the restraint to the lower portion of the seatback assembly, which was made of thin aluminum. The lack of reinforcement allowed the attachment bolt, washers, and stop nut to be pulled upward and through the seatback structure during the impact sequence, which resulted in the pilot’s loss of shoulder harness restraint.
A review of the airplane’s maintenance records indicated that the carburetor was rebuilt during the airplane’s restoration about 17 years before the accident.
The NTSB said it’s working to inform pilots of the “lessons learned”.
The single-engine Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR struck a tree, however, and crashed on a golf course, injuring the actor.
“He’s going to be fine”, a well-placed source told the Daily News after the incident.
The crash, which saw the actor’s plane come down a short distance from houses, follows years of complaints by residents in the heavily populated beachside community outside Los Angeles that the airport interferes with their quality of life.
Ford, 73, suffered a broken leg when he crashed his World War Two training plane on a Southern California golf course in March.
Ford had just taken off from Santa Monica Airport on March 5 when he reported engine failure at an altitude of 1,100 feet and requested an immediate return. The actor told the NTSB experts he had no recollection of the crash, but could remember the moments leading up to it.
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He was not required to file a flight plan before heading out in his yellow WWII plane. His toxicology only showed the morphine he was given during his evacuation from the golf course and the nausea drug he was given in the emergency room, investigators said.
