Movies - TV
Raiders Of The Lost Ark’s Flying Wing Nearly Shattered Harrison Ford’s Knee
By ERIC VESPE
There's a long history of lead actors getting injured on movie sets while trying to capture something truly amazing for the viewing audience. One notable incident that isn't talked about nearly as much as it should be was when Harrison Ford almost got run over by an airplane while filming “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
During the scene where Indy is boxing the big, tough Nazi mechanic, Ford mistimed a roll away from the plane's wheel, and the actor got pinned. “Everybody was yelling, ‘Stop! Stop!’ while the tire crawled up my leg,” remembered Ford, adding, “Luckily, the brakes worked — inches before my knee was crushed — but I was pinned to the sand.”
Ford did sustain an injury because of this, tearing a ligament in his left leg, but thanks to the quick action of the crew and the blisteringly hot day softening the rubber of the plane's tire, he was able to escape with minimal damage done to his body. Ford admitted, “I was a lot more careful about stunt work after that!"