A doctor who was playing golf when Harrison Ford crashed into the California course says he feared the actor's plane would burst into flames.
"He was obviously moaning and in pain," spinal surgeon Sanjay Khurana said.
"My task, if you will, was to get him out of the airplane in a somewhat urgent manner because the fuel was leaking."
The 72-year-old actor was flying solo in a World War Two training aircraft when it crashed into Penmar golf course in the Venice area on Thursday afternoon.
Dr Khurana said he saw the plane "drop like a rock" about 150ft (45 metres) in front of him.
He told ABC News: "He's obviously an iconic individual and when he lay there as I was trying to check his airway, his blood pressure, it was obvious by his face it was Harrison Ford."
The vintage aircraft remained at the crash site on Friday morning as federal aviation investigators tried to determine what made it come down.
The National Transportation Safety Board said at a press conference they have still not spoken to Ford.
In audio with air traffic control, the actor, who was flying at 3,000 feet, can be heard saying in an urgent voice: "Engine failure," before requesting "immediate return" to the airport.
The single-engine plane clipped a tree as it went down shortly after taking off from Santa Monica Airport, about a mile away, the LA Fire Department said.
The yellow aircraft was upright and mostly intact after the crash. No one on the ground was hurt.
Witnesses said the actor was helped out of the plane by several bystanders and that he could use his legs.
Los Angeles Assistant Fire Chief Patrick Butler said Ford had a cut to his forehead and scraped arms.
"He wasn't a bloody mess," Mr Butler said. "He was alert."
Ford's son Ben, who went to his father's hospital bedside, tweeted: "At the hospital. Dad is OK. Battered but OK!
"He is every bit the man you would think he is. He is an incredibly strong man."
Ford's publicist Ina Treciokas said the star was "banged up", but expected to make a full recovery.
The actor appeared to have used his extensive piloting experience to bring down the plane on the golf course, avoiding nearby homes.
Christian Fry, of the Santa Monica Airport Association, said it was "an absolutely beautifully executed" emergency landing by "an unbelievably well-trained pilot".
LA Police Department spokeswoman Officer Nuria Vanegas said the cause of the accident appeared to be "mechanical failure".
Carlos Lugo, 63, who was also playing golf, said he saw the plane lose power and turn around in an apparent attempt to return to the runway at Santa Monica Airport.
"When he flew over us we knew it was too late to make it back to the airport," he said.
Best known for his roles in the blockbuster films Star Wars and Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Ford is an experienced aviation enthusiast and has been the owner of several planes.
He took his first flying lessons in college, gave up due to lack of money, but got back into it after becoming an established film star.
The Ryan Aeronautical plane that he was flying was built in 1942 - the year Ford was born - and registered to the company MG Aviation Inc.
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