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Actor Harrison Ford reported engine failure before plane crash on LA golf course

March 5, 2015
A small plane lies where it crash-landed on Penmar Golf Course in the Venice area of Los Angeles on Thursday, March 5, 2015. The course is near the Santa Monica, Calif. Municipal Airport, just west of a runway, but there was no immediate confirmation on whether the plane had taken off or was trying to land. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A small plane lies where it crash-landed on Penmar Golf Course in the Venice area of Los Angeles on Thursday, March 5, 2015. The course is near the Santa Monica, Calif. Municipal Airport, just west of a runway, but there was no immediate confirmation on whether the plane had taken off or was trying to land. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Harrison Ford reported engine failure shortly after takeoff and told air-traffic controllers he was returning to the airport before crash-landing his vintage plane on a nearby golf course in Los Angeles

In a communication with the tower at Santa Monica Airport, the pilot said he was having engine failure Thursday afternoon and was making an “immediate return.”

That’s according to a recording made public on the website LiveATC.net.

The plane went down on the golf course soon after.

Ford was the only person on board. Fire officials say he had moderate injuries when he was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Fire and police officials haven’t publicly confirmed the pilot’s identity. However, an official familiar with the crash says it was Ford. The official spoke only condition of anonymity because of privacy restrictions.