SANTA MONICA—Former Santa Monica Mayor, Rex Minter, passed away after being involved in a plane crash on Thursday, December 22. Mayor Gleam Davis confirmed his death on Friday, December 23. The plane was discovered south of the Santa Monica Pier.
Firefighters were called at 3:17 p.m. to the 1800 block of Santa Monica Beach and found both the pilot and Minter. The pilot was transported to a local hospital.
Minter was said to have been the passenger of a single-engine Cessna. The only other occupant of the plane was the pilot, whose name has not been disclosed to the public. The pilot reported engine issues before making an emergency landing. Air traffic control warned the pilot that “landing on the beach will be at your own risk,” to which the pilot replied with, “I wish I had another choice.”
The aircraft descended violently before flipping and crashing to the shore. The two were in the air for only nine minutes before the accident transpired. It is unknown what the pilot’s current condition is as officials are investigating the crash.
Minter, born in 1927, served as the mayor of Santa Monica between 1963 to 1967. He later served as city attorney for Arcadia and as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge.
