Disney company fined £1.6m over door which smashed Harrison Ford’s leg like a ‘blunt-edged guillotine’ on Star Wars set
The Hollywood star "could have been killed" in the horror accident, the judge said
A FILM production company was hit with a £1.6m fine today for an on-set accident that "could have killed" Hollywood star Harrison Ford.
Foodles Production, which is owned by Disney, had previously pleaded guilty to two breaches of health and safety regulations following the horror mishap in June 2014.
A spaceship door "like a blunt-edge blunt-edged guillotine" fell on Mr Ford during a rehearsal at Pinewood Studio, Aylsesbury Crown Court heard today.
At the time the movie star had been preparing to reprise his role as swashbuckling space traveller Han Solo in the JJ Abrams Star Wars reboot, The Force Awakens.
The actor was airlifted to Oxford's Radcliffe hospital after the door of his on screen spaceship, the Millennium Falcon, tumbled and crushed his leg.
At Foodle Production's sentencing hearing today, prosecutor Andrew Marshall said the hydraulically powered vertical sliding door had been designed to "ensure rapid closure" - but that necessary safety procedures had not been followed.
He added: ";In any construction project there is a need for safety, it is something that has to be planned.
"The door was designed for a film but that is just a species of work place where the same requirements of safety are imposed as anywhere else."
The lawyer explained that the spaceship door was "operated by a person sitting behind a screen and pressing the button".
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He continued: "However, when the operator closed the door she did not realise Mr Ford was planning to back through and he became trapped.
"It is obvious that the door and humans should be kept apart because the effect of this door is like a blunt-edged guillotine.
"Mr Ford suffered fractures to his fibula and fractures to his tibula and he had a dislocated ankle.
"The risk was serious, it was significant and it was dangerous. The force [from the door] was capable of being massive."
Charles Gibson, defending Foodles Production, told Judge Francis Sheridan that an employee sat near Mr Ford and was tasked with letting the production assistant know when to close the door.
The employee was armed with an emergency stop button should something go wrong with the door, the lawyer said.
But the button could not be activated fast enough to stop the rapidly falling door from crushing Mr Ford.
Describing the accident as "most unfortunate and regrettable", Mr Gibson said: "[Production supervisor] Peter Notley waited for Mr Ford to press the button.
"He waited until he thought he was far away from the door, he was expecting Mr Ford to continue away from the door but at that most unfortunate moment Mr Ford continued moving towards the door and he was struck by it."
The company had been charged with failures in the design and manufacture of the hydraulic equipment on the Millennium Falcon set, as well as failing to carry out a risk assessment for actors using the equipment and not preventing actors accessing dangerous areas of the set.
Following the sentencing, a spokeswoman for Foodles Production said: "The safety of our cast and crew was always a top priority and we deeply regret this unfortunate on-set accident.
"The court acknowledged both the additional safety protocols that were immediately implemented, and that it was a very safe production in all other respects."
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