>
Moment when a plane crashes a few feet from bathers near the Santa Monica Pier, killing the former mayor pilot who made a distress call minutes before impact
- Rex H. Minter, a former mayor of Santa Monica, was the passenger of the single-engine Cessna plane that crashed into the Santa Monica Pier on Thursday.
- Less than 10 minutes after he and the unidentified male pilot took off from the Santa Monica airport, the pilot asked to “return” to the runway.
- He said the “engine was running very, very hard” and then declared an emergency and said he would probably have to land on the beach.
- Moments later, it did and when the plane’s wheels hit the sand, it flipped over.
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
A former Santa Monica mayor was killed Thursday in a plane crash caught on camera near the southern California city’s iconic pier.
Rex H. Minter, who was in his early 90s and lived in Sunset Park, was the only passenger on the single-engine Cessna plane that crashed into the sand just yards from beachgoers around 3 p.m.
The pilot, who survived the crash but has not been identified, made a distress call minutes before it crashed.
Minter and the pilot had taken off from the Santa Monica airport less than 10 minutes before the crash. Moments later, the pilot told air traffic control that he “would like to return” to the runway and declared an “emergency.”
In an audio recording of the conversation obtained by CBS Los Angeles, the pilot can be heard over what sounds like gunshots saying that “the engine was running very, very hard.” When asked if he could land on runway 3, the pilot replied: ‘[I] Don’t believe it, you may have to land it on the beach.
The images show the plane landing on the beach before capsizing in the waves.
The plane touched down in the waves before tipping over on its top (pictured) after the emergency landing. The pilot survived, but Minter, who was in his 90s, did not
Air Traffic Control told the pilot that he would land on the beach at his ‘own risk’, but the pilot replied that he didn’t think he had ‘a choice’.
Minter died, while the pilot was taken to hospital, according to fox 10. One was said to be in cardiac arrest when firefighters pulled him out, according to access point.
Minter’s death was confirmed by current Santa Monica Mayor Gleam Davis on Thursday night, whose office issued a statement honoring the former mayor, who served from 1963 to 1967.
It read: “The city is grateful for Mr. Minter’s public service and we join his family in mourning his passing.”
Prior to serving as mayor, Minter was elected to the Santa Monica City Council in 1955 and later served as Arcadia City Attorney and as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. He was also a sailor.
He met his wife Doris at Santa Monica High School and they were both active members of the Santa Monica Rotary Club and avid aviators. His wife was also a member of the Ninety-Nines, an international organization for women pilots.
The unidentified pilot told Air Traffic Control that the “engine was running very, very hard” moments before telling them he would have to land on the beach.
After landing in the surf (pictured), it capsized, killing Minter and injuring the pilot.
Minter (pictured at an unknown time) was the mayor of Santa Monica from 1963-1967 and an avid aviator.
Emergency services responded to the call and firefighters said one of the men was experiencing cardiac arrest, but it is unclear which one.