Film star Harrison Ford crash-landed his World War II-era airplane after losing engine power, suffering serious but not life-threatening injuries as he used his years of experience as a pilot to avoid nearby homes.

The landing on a Los Angeles golf course was described by one expert as a beautifully executed maneuver.

It was the latest and most serious in a series of crashes and close calls for the 72-year-old action-adventure A-lister, who like his Star Wars alter-ego, Han Solo, has a taste for aerial thrills. He was pulled from the plane on Thursday by golfers and course workers who saw it come down 400 meters short of the runway at Santa Monica Municipal Airport and taken by ambulance to a hospital conscious and breathing.