Local man taught Harrison Ford how to fly vintage planes, became friends

The National Transportation Safety Board has been at the crash site all day where long-time Jackson Hole local and beloved actor Harrison Ford crashed his single-engine plane.

The investigation into Thursday’s crash could take months.

Police said the vintage plane he was flying had apparent engine trouble just after take-off. An NTSB official said the plane hit a tree before crashing on a golf course in Venice, California.

The actor actually learned to fly vintage planes in Idaho Falls from a local pilot.

Bob Jones said it all started with a phone call.

“He said, ‘This is Harrison Ford. I’m over in Jackson.’ He says, “I’m thinking about buying me another airplane, and I wanted to know if you’d give me some flight instruction.’ Well, yes,” Jones recalled.

But Jones didn’t believe it at first.

“Is that somebody pulling a joke on me when he identified himself? I knew he had been in this area, in fact one of his airplanes he had was in the hanger at the airport,” he said.

So they met at the airport the next morning.

“Got him introduced into going into short air strips, and down in canyons and everything and as time went on over the years, we did more of that when he’d come to the area. We’ve done a lot of flying locally, and so on, and that’s how I got acquainted with him,” said Jones.

Jones describes his friend as very personable and down to earth.

“If you didn’t know him, who he was, he’d just be somebody from around here. He could be a rancher or something,” Jones said.

So when he heard about the crash he said he was worried, but said this won’t stop Ford from flying.

“Knowing him, I think as soon as he gets better, that he’ll be out flying some more.”

Jones is a World War II veteran. He enlisted at 17, and that’s where he learned to fly. Not only is Jones a war veteran, but he’s given flight lessons to thousands of people.