There are several celebrities who died from plane crashes and other aviation incidents over the past few decades. However, there have also been quite a few survivors. A handful of stars walked away with their lives after experiencing midair issues and/or full-out crash-landings.
Below, Hollywood Life has compiled some of the most famous faces who have been involved in harrowing aviation incidents.
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford was piloting a World War II aircraft in 2015, which crashed into a Los Angeles golf course. He was hospitalized for multiple broken bones but recovered. However, the incident stayed in Harrison’s mind for a while, which he pointed out during a 2025 interfere with The Wall Street Journal. While recounting a rehearsal on the set of 1923, the veteran actor compared his real-life experienced with his character’s from the show.
“I watched a rehearsal with a stand-in being brought into the kitchen, and Helen [Mirren] coming in, sweeping everything off the counter, taking command,” Harris recalled. “Even when I talk about it now, it emotionally relates to the airplane crash I had and what my wife went through.”
Bono
Bono was not involved in a plane crash — but it was a close call. The U2 vocalist was flying over Germany on a Learjet in 2014, and a door broke off while in the air. The plane landed safely despite the harrowing midair moment.
Travis Barker
Travis Barker was on a Learjet 60 business jet in 2008 with several other people, including DJ AM, when it crashed during takeoff in South Carolina. The plane had a tire burst, and the pilot informed air traffic control that sparks were emanating from the aircraft. Upon stopping the takeoff, the flames worsened, and only Travis and AM escaped the jet with second and third-degree burns on their bodies.
Travis was in the hospital for almost three months following the accident. He suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for years out of a fear of flying, and he didn’t get on a plane again until 2021.
Sandra Bullock
Sandra Bullock was on a business jet that crashed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in 2000. The plane skidded off the runway. Miraculously, the actress and the other passengers and flight crew onboard survived.
Wilmer Valderrama, Ashton Kutcher & Danny Masterson
In Wilmer Valderrama‘s memoir, An American Story: Everyone’s Invited, the That ’70s Show alum recounted a frightening aviation incident with co-stars Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson. It’s unclear when the incident happened, but Wilmer described the frightening ordeal in his book.
“I’m feeling lightheaded,” he wrote in one excerpt of the memoir. “It’s getting hard to breathe. Oxygen masks drop from the ceiling, and I wonder if they dropped because the turbulence shook them loose or if it’s something else.”
Fortunately, according to Wilmer, everyone on board was OK when they landed.
