Legends of Aviation clangers include Harrison Ford crash amid Prince Harry drama

17 January 2024 , 12:31

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Prince Harry will be inducted into the Legends of Aviation by John Travolta later this week and Harrison Ford has been honoured in the past

Prince Harry will be recognised at the 21st annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards later this week after it was revealed that Hollywood actor John Travolta will induct him.

Harry's will be honoured his contribution to aviation and aerospace while working as a British Army veteran and pilot. The Duke of Sussex completed two tours of Afghanistan as a forward air controller and piloted an Apache helicopter.

The Living Legends of Aviation Awards will be held on January 19 in Beverly Hills. Hosted by Hollywood actor and qualified pilot John Travolta, Harry will take his place alongside other aviation and aerospace legends including Buzz Aldrin, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, and Morgan Freeman.

READ MORE: Prince Harry's 'Legend of Aviation' award would have Prince Philip 'turning in his grave'

John Travolta has not just a Gulfstream and a private Boeing 707 parked in his driveway (AFP/Getty Images)

Harrison Ford is a skilled pilot (Getty Images)

But since it was revealed that Harry will be inducted, the reaction from critics of the Duke hasn't been too positive. Lord Alan West, the former head of the Royal Navy, told MailOnline of the news: "He is not a living legend of aviation. To suggest he is is pathetic.

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"It makes the whole thing seem a bit of a nonsense if they’re willing to pick someone like Prince Harry. There are lots of people who deserve to be called this but not Prince Harry. I find it extraordinary he has been picked."

But Guardian columnist Marina Hyde has slammed the above, with her quick to ask: "If Harrison Ford and John Travolta can be crowned living legends of aviation, why not Prince Harry?", in her recent column.

Harrison has flown helicopters (Getty Images)

In her column for the paper, she said: "Sorry, Lord West, but I don’t see it. A 'living legends of aviation' ceremony, presented by John Travolta, who has not just a Gulfstream but a private Boeing 707 quite literally parked in his Floridian driveway? Induction into a hall of fame where fellow 'living legends of aviation' include Morgan Freeman (only got his pilot licence at 65) and Harrison Ford (once crash-landed his plane on a Californian golf course)?

"Fellow 2024 honorees including Jeff Bezos’s fiancee, Lauren Sánchez? Again, I’m really going to need his lordship to elaborate on his policy position on this one. How can 'the whole thing' seem 'a bit of a nonsense'?"

Harrison Ford suffered serious head injuries when the plane he was piloting crashed in 2015 after the engine failed. When he was 72, Harrison nose-dived onto a golf course near Santa Monica airport in California in the single-seater 1930 Ryan PT22.

Meanwhile, in 2014, John Travolta flew himself to London and revealed he became a pilot because Britain’s proud aviation ­history inspired him. Speaking to the Sunday People, he said: "I had an ­interest in flying at an early age, from about five.

"But it was the British who really inspired me. I felt they had aviation supremacy. I love how you led the way with Concorde and the jet engine. The Brits have a real love like me for ­aviation and transportation. It’s terrific."

But Lord Alan West isn't the only one who isn't sold on the upcoming aviation ceremony and the people who are involved. Sharing a photo of inductees Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford and Kurt Russell, one X user penned: "Don't get me wrong, I love the work of all three of them, and it's great that they can pilot flying beasts, but let's face it... they're not Chuck Yeagers or Buzz Aldrins."

Prince Harry will be honoured later this week (AFP/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, another social media user, who was responding to a post on X about Harry's induction, penned: "I honestly wouldn't worry about this award as they seem to be given out to anyone, Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford has also won it, and they're celebrities and probably never contributed to aviation."

While another said on the platform: "Honey, if it was really an aviation award, Harrison Ford, private pilot, wouldn't have gotten the award before Buzz Aldrin, fighter pilot, astronaut, PhD in Astronautics, & national hero. But the award is designed to interest kids in flight, so Han Solo beats Buzz Not-Lightyear."

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