'Now I crash planes, I don’t fly them!' Harrison Ford jokes about solo accident that left him badly injured... and how he still loves being a pilot

Harrison Ford has revealed he was so eager to start flying again after his plane crash earlier this year, he got back into the cockpit while still wearing a cast on his right leg.

The veteran movie star cheated death when he was forced to ditch his vintage single-engine plane onto a golf course in Venice, California, shortly after take-off from Santa Monica airport on March 5.

‘I started flying as soon as I could get back in my cockpit,' the 73-year-old told the UK's Daily Mirror. 'I had a cast on my right leg, but my toes were hanging out so I could put my toes over the pedals and fly. I’ve been flying ever since.’ 

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Not flying solo: Harrison Ford let another pilot take the strain Sunday as he arrived at LAX to catch a commercial flight out of Los Angeles

The Indiana Jones star told Ellen DeGeneres in an interview to air Monday on her show that he dislocated his right ankle, shattered his pelvis, suffered a broken back and had a serious bump on the head with major lacerations.

But the father-of-five had no qualms at all about taking to the skies again as soon as he could.

An experienced pilot of 20 years, Ford told the Mirror the incident was a ‘very rare thing to happen’ and was solely due to a mechanical issue.

See more of the latest news and updates on Star Wars' Harrison Ford

Painful: The veteran Hollywood star, who's 73, detailed the serious injuries he suffered in his plane crash in March during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres set to air Monday on her NBC chat show

Mechanical failure: Ford, pictured being attended to by emergency first responders, crash landed his vintage airplane on a golf course in Venice, California, shortly after taking off from nearby Santa Monica airport

And he was even able to see the humorous side of the crash, which saw the man who plays Han Solo – the pilot of the Millennium Falcon, the greatest ship in the galaxy – come a cropper in a small plane.

‘The Millennium Falcon never breaks and you can put it down anywhere. It was the one I put on the golf course that disappointed me,' he joked. 'The Millennium Falcon is infallible.’

He added he has the full support of his actress wife Calista Flockhart, 51.

‘My wife still supports me because she knows how much it means to me,' Ford said. 'Maybe I am stupid, but I haven’t changed anything. I still love flying.’

Off on his travels: Ford was seen toting a carry-on bag and his passport through the LA airport terminal as he made his way to the departure gate to catch his flight

We're back! He is busy doing publicity for the next installment of the Star Wars franchise The Force Awakens in which his character Han Solo reunites with Chewbacca

Star Wars magic: The actor joked that the Millennium Falcon is the only infallible craft

Ford suffered another serious injury while filming scenes in the Millennium Falcon on location in London last June. A large section of the ship broke away and fell on the star’s leg, fracturing his limb.

In an Entertainment Weekly interview, director JJ Abrams said: ‘It was obviously a horrible experience that I wish had never happened for obvious reasons.'

'But the truth is, once we knew that Harrison was going to be okay, we all realized this was this greatest gift to the movie, and I would think that any filmmaker would say, ‘If I could get a break after a month of shooting, for a few weeks, to recalibrate, I would take it.’

Pilot to his boots: Ford acknowledged that he 'may be stupid' but he 'still loves flying.' He's pictured on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on December 1

Since his plane accident, Ford has made a full recovery and will be in attendance at the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens premières in New York and Los Angeles.

The star previously stated he wanted Star Wars creator George Lucas to kill off Han Solo following Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as he had no idea there would be more films in the series.

However, he has no regrets over his U-turn and said he knew he had made the right decision to return following the success of rehearsals.

Fans of the franchise can take comfort from the star’s assessment of the new film, after he revealed the modern day Han is consistent with the original character, just with more experience.