Harrison Ford's Radio Missteps On Takeoff Before Botched Taxiway Landing
Harrison Ford Radio Missteps On Takeoff Before Botched Taxiway Landing
Harrison Ford didn't sound like a seasoned pilot of more than 20 years when he stammered through radio calls to the tower ... minutes before his screwed up landing on a taxiway.
TMZ has obtained audio of Harrison's convo with air traffic control as he took off from Santa Monica Airport at 11:49 AM on Feb. 13, and he sounds confused.
The SMO tower sends him off with his tail number -- "Husky Niner Hotel Uniform" -- and gives him a personal code (squawk) of 0214 ... his identifying code for air traffic control. All good up to that point.
The trouble starts when Harrison radios back saying he's in a helicopter. He stutters a few times trying to correct his mistake and then throws out his tail number. The bigger problem is he's still talking to SMO tower, which had already turned over to another tower.
The controller tells Harrison he's on the wrong frequency, and reminds him he should be communicating with the other tower.
Our pilot sources say, on their own, these mistakes would be no big deal. But the FAA might be interested in these because of how his landing went roughly 18 minutes later in Orange County.