Harrison Ford called himself a "schmuck" after he mistakenly landed on a taxiway at a California airport and narrowly avoided a commercial airliner, an audio recording reveals.

In last month's near-miss, the actor had been told to land his single-engine plane on Runway 20L at John Wayne Airport in Orange County.

Instead he landed on the parallel taxiway where the commercial airliner carrying 116 people was waiting to take off.

"I'm the schmuck who landed on the taxiway," the 74-year-old Ford told an air traffic controller shortly after the incident on 13 February.

"I was distracted by the airliner which was in movement when I turned to the runway and also the big turbulence from the landing Airbus."


Watch Harrison Ford's aircraft near-miss

The air traffic controller is heard asking Ford for name and pilot's licence, telling him to take his time finding the ID number.

"It's no big deal", the air traffic controller says.

"It's a big deal for me," the Indiana Jones and Star Wars star replies.

A video released last month showed Ford's Aviat Husky plane from behind as it descends toward the airfield where the American Airlines Boeing 737 is slowly taxiing.

"Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?" Ford asked the air traffic control tower as he landed in the wrong spot.

"Oh. I landed on Taxiway Charlie. I understand now. Sorry for that," Ford said.

Image: Ford crash landed his vintage plane onto a Los Angeles golf course back in 2015

Landing on a taxiway, instead of a runway, is a violation of Federal Aviation Administration regulations, and the agency is investigating the incident.

The recordings of Ford's conversations with air traffic controllers were released by the Federal Aviation Administration.

In 2015, Ford crashed a vintage plane onto a Los Angeles golf course, suffering serious injuries.