News Digest

Was God smiling on him?: Morgan Freeman unhurt after forced plane landing

Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman escaped uninjured when the plane he was travelling in was forced into an emergency landing. The Shawshank Redemption star was on board a a SJ30 Jet when one of the tyres blew out as it took off from Clarksdale, Mississippi. The pilot, the only other person on board, decided to make the emergency landing at Tunica, which is about 40 miles away. Although the plane’s landing gear collapsed and it slid off the side of the runway, neither Freeman, 78, nor the pilot, were hurt.

Sometimes things don’t go as planned and a tire blew on takeoff, which caused other problems.

Morgan Freeman

The Oscar-winner was heading for Texas where he was shooting The Story of God, a documentary series that looks at the origin of religion and is broadcast on the National Geographic channel. In a statement, Freeman, who also played God in Bruce Almighty and its sequel, said things sometimes did not go to plan. But he went on: “But thanks to my excellent pilot Jimmy Hobson we landed safely without a scratch. I cannot say the same about my plane. I appreciate the concern and prayers for our safety." In 2008, Freeman was involved in a car crash in Mississippi in which he broke a number of bones and suffered nerve damage.