Funviralpark The passenger who died Thursday after a small plane crashed onto a beach in Santa Monica was 95-year-old Rex Minter, the city’s former mayor, officials confirmed.
The plane landed upside down along the coast at 3:15 pm and after only nine minutes of flight, only two people on board, the pilot and Minter, were hospitalized, officials said.
The city of Santa Monica announced Friday that Minter died from his injuries.
“The city appreciates Mr. Minter for his public service and we mourn his loss with his family. It will be postponed,” city officials said in a statement.
Minter was a passenger in a single-engine Cessna that took off from Santa Monica airport bound for Malibu, CBS Los Angeles reported.
According to flight records, the pilot reported engine trouble.
According to recordings obtained by KTTV-TV, air traffic control warned pilots to “land on the beach at their own risk.”
“I wish I had another option,” replied the pilot.
The plane crashed into the waves in front of dozens of people near the basketball and tennis courts in Venice Beach. Los Angeles County Lifeguard. The crash site is within the takeoff corridor about three miles from Santa Monica Airport.
dramatic picture Santa Monica’s Oceanfront Walk shows planes descending swiftly over sunbathers soaking their feet in the water as they fly past the famous pier.
The video shows the plane being forced to land in shallow water, with the tail bouncing over the nose before quickly landing on its back.
Firefighters removed two people from the upside-down plane, one of whom was in cardiac arrest, officials said. The pilot’s status is unknown.
According to the city, Minter was elected to the Santa Monica City Council in 1955 and served as mayor from 1963 to 1967. Later, he served as a city attorney for Arcadia and a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
He and his wife Doris met at Santa Monica High School before serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, and opened a law firm in Santa Monica after graduating from law school.
Current Mayor of Santa Monica Griem Davis Said She said she spoke to Minter’s family and expressed the city’s condolences.
