Harrison Ford was involved in a near miss on Monday (13 February) when he overflew his single-engine aircraft by a 737 passenger plane at John Wayne Airport in California. The incident prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The 74-year-old American actor was reportedly instructed to land on a runway at the Orange County airport but instead landed on a parallel taxiway. Ford's plane passed a waiting American Airlines aircraft with 110 passengers and crew on board, the BBC reported. The passenger jet departed minutes later.

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Just before landing, the Star Wars actor reportedly asked air traffic controllers: "Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?"

The FAA confirmed that the pilot of the single-engine plane had been given the all-clear to land on the runway, but declined to confirm the pilot was Ford.

"Air traffic controllers cleared the pilot of a single-engine Aviat Husky to land on Runway 20L at John Wayne Airport Monday afternoon," FAA spokesman Ian Gregor told reporters.

"The pilot correctly read back the clearance. The pilot then landed on a taxiway that runs parallel to the runway, overflying a Boeing 737 that was holding short of the runway. The FAA is investigating."

According to the Los Angeles Times, Gregor added that landing on the taxiway instead of a runway violates FAA regulations.

A source familiar with the incident, who was not authorised to speak, confirmed to The Times that Ford was the pilot involved. Ford has declined to comment about the incident.

The Indiana Jones actor has been involved in a number of plane crashes. The most recent occurred in 2015, when Ford crashed a World War II-era plane at a golf course near Santa Monica Airport.

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on the crash revealed that Ford had informed Santa Monica air traffic controllers he was experiencing engine failure shortly after takeoff.

As Ford initiated a left turn back towards the runway, he hit the top of a tall tree and crashed into Penmar Golf Course. NTSB investigators later concluded the plane likely crashed due to a carburetor issue, which prompted the engine to lose power, the Times reported.

The BBC noted that Ford was also involved in a 2014 incident while filming on the Millennium Falcon spaceship, which resulted in a broken leg, as well as a 1999 helicopter crash in Los Angeles, which did not result in any injuries.