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Rex Minter: Former Santa Monica mayor, 90, dies after plane crashes upside down on California beach

Rex Minter was elected to the Santa Monica City Council in 1955 and served as Mayor between 1963 and 1967

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA: Former Santa Monica Mayor Rex H Minter, 90 died in a small plane crash on Thursday, 22 December. Minter was a passenger in a single-engine Cessna that crashed feet away from the beachgoers at Santa Monica Pier into the ocean. The accident took place less than ten minutes after departing Santa Monica Airport around 3 pm, on its way to Malibu. 

The incident has been videotaped and the pilot who hasn't been identified survived the crash and made a distress call minutes before the plane flipped over after landing on the beach upside down, in the sand. Apparently, the pilot reported engine trouble and wanted to return to the airport but lastly, he changed his mind and decided to make an emergency landing.  

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The pilot was freed from the wreckage and shifted to the hospital in an unknown condition. Los Angeles County Fire Department said there were two people trapped in the plane and one of the passengers suffered a cardiac emergency, as per CBC News. 

"Landing on the beach is at your own risk," the air traffic controller says in an audio acquired by the station, as the plane neared the shoreline, to which the pilot responded, "I wish I had another choice." When asked if he would be able to land on Runway 3, the pilot replied: "I don't think so, I may have to land it on the beach" and he also mentions that the "engine was running very, very rough," and loud noises were also heard in the audio. 

Minter was elected to the Santa Monica City Council in 1955 and served as Mayor between 1963 and 1967. He later served as City Attorney for Arcadia, and as a judge for the Los Angeles County Superior Court as per Santa Monica cities Communications & Public Information Manager. While paying tributes, they said,  "The City of Santa Monica mourns the passing of former Mayor Rex H. Minter and we send our deepest condolences to his children, grandchildren, family members, and his many friends throughout Santa Monica."

Flags in the city hall were ordered to be lowered to mourn the death of Minter as they remembered his public service, "The City is grateful for Mr. Minter’s public service and we join his family in mourning his passing. Flags in front of City Hall will be lowered to half-staff and a City Council meeting in the new year will be adjourned in honor of Minter’s service".