Hollywood actor Harrison Ford clipped a tree as he chose the “best spot” to crash-land his vintage plane on a golf course, air crash investigators said.

The 72-year-old was flying a 1942 Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR when he reported a loss of engine power and attempted to return to the airport he had taken off from.

The actor, who is best known for his starring roles in the Star Wars movies and Indiana Jones franchise, was reportedly left bloodied with a large cut on his head.

Patrick Jones, an air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said Ford picked “the best spot” to make a safe landing after running into difficulty following take-off from Santa Monica airport and attempting to return to the runway.

The World War II-era trainer airplane that actor Harrison Ford crash-landed Thursday is removed from Penmar Golf Course in the Venice area of Los Angeles, Friday, March 6, 2015. Ford, 72, is hospitalized with undisclosed injuries that his publicist says are not life-threatening. The actor was flying the plane when it lost engine power shortly after takeoff from nearby Santa Monica, Calif., Municipal Airport.
(Nick Ut/AP)

He added: “The airplane clipped a tree and came to rest on the golf course. The investigation is ongoing. Today we are going to finish documenting the accident site and recover the airplane to a local hangar for further investigation, it will be examined and the records of the aircraft will be examined and we will submit a factual report.

“The process will take a couple of weeks to a month and the final report probably won’t be out for a year.”

Asked by reporters about the skill involved in landing a plane under those conditions, Jones said: “When you take off from an airport and you need to land an aircraft you have to pick the best spots that there are and this was the best spot at this point.”

He added: “Any time that a human being can survive an accident involving an airplane it’s a good day, it is really hard to walk into an accident and not jump to conclusions, conclusions get you in trouble.”