Harrison Ford was reportedly left bloodied with a “huge” cut on his head after the plane he was piloting crash-landed on a golf course.

The 72-year-old Hollywood actor, who starred in blockbusters including the Indiana Jones and Star Wars movies, was the only occupant of the single-engine vintage Second World War plane when it came down yesterday in the Venice area of Los Angeles at 2.30pm (10.30pm GMT).

Initial reports said the “experienced” pilot was critically injured, but Patrick Butler of the city’s Fire Department (LAFD) – who would not officially identify Ford due to privacy restrictions, later said he suffered moderate injuries.

Harrison Ford plane crash
(Damian Dovarganes/AP)

Speaking from the scene of the crash at Penmar Golf Course, he said: “He suffered basically some moderate trauma and he was alert and conscious and paramedics from LAFD transported the patient to the local area hospital.”

A witness told the TMZ website that the plane nose dived straight on to the 8th hole tee box, leaving Ford with a very deep cut.

The witness reportedly said: “I was one of the first people to run from the hole toward the plane. Four to five men pulled the pilot out of the plane. They got him away from the plane. They were concerned it would catch on fire.

“Two doctors were there – and they had a first aid box with them. He was conscious, talking a little – a huge cut on his head. A swath of his skin was missing. There was blood dripping down his face.”

Harrison Ford
(Jordan Strauss/AP)

The actor’s son Ben said his father is “incredibly strong” and thanked the public for their good wishes.

Air crash investigator Patrick Jones told a press conference that the vintage aircraft had clipped the top of a tree on an attempted return to the runway at Santa Monica airport before landing on the golf course.

Asked about Ford’s condition, he said: “We believe that he is going to survive.”

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will now investigate the crash in a process that could take up to a year before a final report.

Mr Jones said: “We’re going to look at everything: weather, man, the machine.”

Harrison Ford plane crash
(Damian Dovarganes/AP)

The accident is understood to have happened shortly after the plane took off. In a recording on the website LiveATC.net, a man – believed to be Ford – is heard to say “engine failure, immediate return”.

A spokesman for Ford said: “Harrison was flying a WW2 vintage plane today which stalled upon take-off.

“He had no other choice but to make an emergency landing, which he did safely. The injuries sustained are not life-threatening, and he is expected to make a full recovery.”

The actor has been in the wars of late and broke his leg in June last year while filming JJ Abrams’ Star Wars Episode VII at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.

Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart
(Tammie Arroyo /AFF)

Ford, who is married to actress Calista Flockhart, got his pilot’s licence in the 1990s and has made headlines with his flying before – although he had never been significantly injured doing it.

He has been involved in several rescues and a plane he was piloting was blown off a runway in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 2000. He has also volunteered his services during forest-fire season, when rescue helicopters are busy fighting blazes.

Last year, he became a lifelong member of a Shropshire flying club while working on Star Wars Episode VII.