This is What’s Trending Today...
Actor Harrison Ford became famous in the 1970s when he starred as Han Solo, the pilot of the Millennium Falcon spaceship in “Star Wars.”
It turns out that he is also an airplane pilot in real life.
But over the years, his hobby has resulted in a series of accidents and near-accidents.
The latest came earlier this week. Ford was trying to land his small airplane at an airport in southern California. Authorities at the airport said Ford received instructions from air traffic control. Ford then tried to land his plane.
But he did not go to the correct part of the airport.
He went to an area of the airport where large passenger airplanes wait to take off. And as he was landing, he almost ran into an American Airlines plane, with 116 people on board.
News services reported that Ford asked air traffic control: “Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?”
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
Many people on social media are also wondering what happened. The incident made Ford a trending topic.
Harrison Ford is 74 years old. He is an accomplished pilot. He has more than 5,000 hours flying planes. He owns several kinds of aircraft.
He has had some mishaps. NBC News created a list of Ford’s aircraft accidents.
In 2015 he was injured when he crashed a small airplane on a golf course in California. The plane’s engine reportedly failed. People in the area said Ford made a good choice to land his plane there instead of causing danger to people in nearby homes.
Back in 2000, Ford had an emergency landing at an airport in Nebraska. A strong wind blew his small airplane off the runway.
One year earlier, he crashed a helicopter during a lesson.
Some Twitter users are making jokes about his movie aircraft, the Millennium Falcon, and his real-life piloting skills.
In one Star Wars scene, Han Solo brags that the Millennium Falcon made the “Kessel run” in “less than 12 parsecs,” which broke a record.
One Twitter user tweeted that “Han Solo may have made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, but Harrison Ford is about to lose his pilot’s license.”
And that’s What’s Trending Today.
I’m Dan Friedell.
Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
What do you think of Harrison Ford’s latest accident? Let us know in the comments section.
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Words in This Story
hobby – n. an activity that a person does for pleasure when not working
airliner – n. a large airplane used for carrying passengers
accomplished – adj. very skillful : having or showing the skill of an expert
mishap – n. an unlucky accident or mistake
