Actor Harrison Ford Injured After Single Engine Plane Crashes on Golf Course in Mar Vista, California (VIDEO) (Update: Air Traffic Control Audio)

IT LOOKED LIKE A SCENE OUT OF INDIANA JONES, BUT THIS WAS MUCH MORE REAL …

Actor Harrison Ford was involved in a plane crash late this after noon when his single engine, Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR, vintage World War II training plane crash landed on a golf course in Mar Vista, California shortly after takeoff from Santa Monica Airport. The 72-year-old actor, best known for his roles as Indiana Jones and Hans Solo of Star War movie fame, was reported conscious and breathing when rescue crews reached him, was stabilized and taken to a hospital. The plane to crash about 2:20 p.m. (5:20 p.m. ET).

Actor Harrison Ford was “battered but OK” Thursday after his vintage World War II training plane crash landed on a California golf course, authorities and family members said.

The 72-year-old actor, who was conscious and breathing when rescue crews reached him, was stabilized and taken to a hospital, where he was in fair to moderate condition, authorities said. Sources said he sustained cuts to his head. There was no word on other injuries or what caused the plane to crash about 2:20 p.m. (5:20 p.m. ET). It appeared he was flying solo.

The plane, a single-engine Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR, crashed on the golf course shortly after takeoff from Santa Monica Airport, said Patrick Jones, an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. The pilot reported a loss of engine power, clipped the top of a tree and was trying to return to the airport, Jones said.

UPDATE I: TMZ – Plane Crashes:[Video Update: Paramedics Treat Harrison]. TMZ has video below of first responders and paramedics ate the scene of the plane crash aiding Harrison Ford.

A witness who was golfing at the time of the crash tells us she heard the engine sputter … and watched the plane do a “nose dive straight on the 8th hole tee box.”

The witness adds, “I was one of the first people to run from the hole toward the plane. 4 to 5 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 1st aid box with them. He was conscious, talking a little — a HUGE cut on his head.”

UPDATE II: Harrison Ford’s son Ben Ford tweeted, ‘Dad is ok. Battered, but ok! … “He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man.”

UPDATE III: CNN is reporting that the plane crash at the golf course happened within a block away from houses in a residential neighborhood.

Actor Harrison Ford was “banged up” and hospitalized Thursday afternoon after a 1940s aircraft he was piloting crashed during a forced landing on a golf course, his publicist said.

“Dad is ok. Battered, but ok! He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man,” Ben Ford tweeted.

Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Chief Patrick Butler, who wouldn’t identify Ford as the patient, said the pilot suffered moderate trauma and was “alert and conscious” when he was taken to the hospital. He said the pilot, the only person on board, was in fair to moderate condition.

UPDATE IV: Harrison Ford Undergoing Surgery After Venice Plane Crash, Source Close to Family Says.

“We are bound by privacy laws to never discuss … the patient’s identity,” fire Assistant Chief Patrick Butler said.

But a source close to Ford’s family told KTLA: “He’s fine, has a few gashes.” The individual later said the actor was going into surgery for broken bones.

UPDATE V: Statement from publicist sent out about the crash:

A representative for Ford says, “Harrison was flying a WW2 vintage plane today which stalled upon takeoff.” They added, “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 pilot was in fair-to-moderate condition when he was transported, not in critical condition as originally reported, according to Butler.

UPDATE VI: Harrison Ford and Air Traffic Control Audio prior to plane crash via TMZ.