Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Morgan Freeman lands malfunctioning plane four times en route to Toronto Film Festival

And there we were thinking the Oscar-winning actor could not get much cooler

Jess Denham
Monday 08 September 2014 10:45 BST
Comments
Morgan Freeman arrives for the Ruth & Alex premiere at the Toronto Film Festival after suffering private jet malfunctions
Morgan Freeman arrives for the Ruth & Alex premiere at the Toronto Film Festival after suffering private jet malfunctions (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Anyone who thought Morgan Freeman couldn’t get any cooler, think again: In what could have been a scene from one of his many ass-kicking films, the Oscar-winning actor safely landed his malfunctioning plane on route to the Toronto Film Festival.

The 77-year-old, known for The Shawshank Redemption and Million Dollar Baby, was flying his own jet from his Mississippi home to attend the world premiere of his latest film Ruth & Alex in Canada.

After rocking up to the movie’s pre-reception party 90 minutes late, Freeman blamed the delay on technical problems that forced him to make multiple emergency landings.

“The slats would not retract in the air,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “On the ground they were fine, but in the air they were a problem. We were about ten minutes in the air trying to get them to retract but they didn’t so we went back and landed.”

Calm and cool as ever, Freeman insisted that he was “never in any danger”, despite trying and failing to take off four times.

“They still didn’t work so we went back,” he explained. “Had to put the plane away and take out the other plane.”

Freeman has had his pilot’s licence for twelve years and owns two personal aircrafts. He repaired radar equipment for the US Air Force as a young man.

His new film, also starring Diane Keaton, follows the story of a long-time married couple who face a series of issues after planning to move out of their Brooklyn apartment.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in