Morgan Freeman in plane scare after pilot forced to make emergency landing

A private plane carrying the Oscar winning actor Morgan Freeman skidded off the runway after it was forced to make an emergency landing. The star and his pilot were unhurt.

"Sometimes things don't go as planned and a tyre blew on take-off, which caused other problems," the Shawshank Redemption star said in a statement.

Shortly after taking off from Clarksdale, Mississippi, the SJ30 jet was forced to land at the airport in the small town of Tunica, around 40 miles away. Freeman's attorney William Luckett told CNN the plane skidded off the runway as it landed damaging it further.

"Thanks to my excellent pilot Jimmy Hobson we landed safely without a scratch," Freeman said. "I cannot say the same about my plane. I appreciate the concern and prayers for our safety."

It is not known where the star, who won an Oscar for his role in the 2005 film Million Dollar Baby and received seven other nominations for the award, was flying to.

The 78-year-old lives in Charleston, Mississippi as well as New York. He also owns and operates the Ground Zero blues club in Clarksdale.

It is not the first time the star has been in an accident. In 2008, his car left the road and flipped over several times breaking left arm and shoulder. Doctors also operated to repair nerve damage to his shoulder and arm.