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Los Angeles - An investigation into what caused Hollywood star Harrison Ford to crash the single-engine plane he was piloting will take about a year to complete, US aviation officials said on Friday.
Ford, 72, was injured Thursday when his vintage aircraft suffered apparent engine failure and crash-landed on a golf course outside Los Angeles.
Patrick Jones, an official with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), told reporters in Venice, California that investigators were inspecting the wreckage as well as reviewing documents pertaining to the upkeep of the plane.
"The aircraft will be examined, the engine will be examined, the records of the aircraft will be examined and ultimately we'll submit a factual report," Jones said.
"All of that process is going to take probably a couple of weeks to a month or so," the NTSB official said.
"The final report probably will not be out for a year."
Experts said the aircraft he was flying was a World War II era two-seater plane that was more than 70 years old.
Jones said that the plane being as old as it is in many ways makes the investigation more straightforward.
"This aircraft is a fairly simple aircraft," he said.
"A lot of it is old-school mechanical. We'll see what it is, we'll look at everything."
Harrison Ford to be interviewed
Ford, an aviation enthusiast with years of flying under his belt, flew out of Santa Monica Airport in the Ryan PT-22 Recruit when he experienced engine trouble just minutes into the flight. He was trying to return to the airport when he crashed.
Authorities said they have not yet had the opportunity to interview Ford, but plan to do so over the course of their probe.
The actor suffered multiple gashes to his head and was left bleeding after the crash.
A family spokesman said Ford's injuries were not life-threatening. His son Ben, in a tweet late Thursday, said his father was "battered, but OK."
One of the biggest names in Hollywood, the actor rose to fame as smuggler Han Solo in the blockbuster Star Wars movies.
He also played the lead in the popular Indiana Jones movies, as well as in a string of Hollywood hits and misses from the acclaimed Witness and The Fugitive to the panned Random Hearts.
