city coffee portland oregon
Photo by The Oregonian
GEARHART - Two adults and three children died this morning when a small airplane crashed into a beachside house in the coastal community of Gearhart.
The plane and house burst into flames seconds after the crash.
Both of occupants of the plane, believed to be a four-seat Cessna, died in the crash. A woman and five children were in the house. Three children died.
A spokeswoman at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center in Portland confirmed the woman and two children are in the burn center. They are Ruth Reimann, her son Chris, and her daughter, Sarah. The hospital declined to release their conditions, and said the family declined to comment.
The deceased are: plane pilot, Jason Ketchson of Clatsop County; plane passenger, Frank Toohey, 58, of Clatsop County; Julia Reimann, 10, of Beaverton; Hesam Farrar Masoudi, 12, of Denver; Grace Masoudi, 8, of Denver.
Gearhart City Administrator Dennis McNally, appearing about 1 p.m. at a news conference at City Hall, said the crash took place about 6:37 a.m. He said the airplane, which had been rented from Aviation Adventures at Seaside Airport, first struck a tree and then crashed into the house, which is at 398 N. Marion.
Greg Marshall of Portland has owned the house for 20 years, and said he hosted his daughter's wedding party there two years ago today. He said the crash victims arrived yesterday afternoon for what they planned as a two-week stay. Marshall said they were there for a family event of some kind, maybe a wedding.
Marshall said it was his understanding there was a slumber party for the kids last night, and five of them slept together in one room.
It was, he said, "a random act of God for that plane to have zeroed into the smallest house around. I'm sure the family feels the same indiscriminate wrong place/wrong time thing."
The house was a smoldering ruin by early this morning.
McNally said an explosion was reported about 20 seconds after the crash. A second house was reported to be damaged.
According to a neighbor, three of the adults had awakened early today and went to Pop's Sweet Shop Ice Cream for coffee while the fourth adult, a woman, stayed in the house with the children.
While the three adults were away, the airplane -- believed to be a four-seater Cessna 172 -- crashed through the back door of the house and went through the kitchen. Some neighbors reported the woman who had stayed behind with the children rescued the two who survived. McNally said they were rescued by emergency workers.
Joe Taft, whose family owns Pop's, said a woman who lived next to the house hit by the plane called the shop when she couldn't get through on 9-1-1. The shop is across the street from the fire station, so she wanted to know if emergency vehicles were on the way. It was unclear this afternoon how long 9-1-1 problems delayed would-be rescuers, if at all.
McNally said wreckage of the plane and bodies inside would be left untouched until investigators with Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are on the scene.
The plane took off from Seaside airport, which is southeast of the crash site. McNally said the plane may have hit the home from the southwest. Neighbors reported hearing the plane sputtering just before crash.
By noon, the crash site was cordoned off with yellow police tape and onlookers were being kept from the scene. Nearby, people could be seen walking their dogs or playing golf on the nearby Gearhart golf course.
Curious children had ridden bicycles to the scene of the crash but the tape kept them at a distance. Remains of a tree, which had been sheared about 10 feet off the ground, could be seen in the smoking remains.
Tourist magazine editor Rebecca Herren lives about a block and a half from the crash site and said she was in bed between 6:30 and 7 a.m.
"I heard the plane above and thought, 'Gosh, it's awfully low and awfully early, for one thing,' " she said.
The explosion shook her house and was followed by two smaller explosions, she said. The city said homes were rocked up to a half mile away.
Part of a golf course separates her house from the crash site, Herren said, and on a clear day she would be able to see it.
"Because it was so foggy, I couldn't see any smoke plumes," she said. "Then I heard the sirens start."
Fire departments from Gearhart, Seaside and Lewis & Clark responded.
-- Kimberly A.C. Wilson; kimberlywilson@news.oregonian.com
A 25-year-old Hillsboro man was arrested today after being stopped for speeding well over 100 miles-per-hour on a motorcycle.
Sandy Police Department said a dash-mounted radar on a Sandy Police patrol car recorded Brian Scott Wood going 136 miles-per-hour while traveling westbound in a 55 miles-per-hour zone on U.S. 26 near Kelso Road.
Wood was stopped in Sandy on U.S. 26 near University Avenue. He was arrested for reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, driving under the influence of intoxicants. He was lodged at Clackamas County Jail.
-- Wade Nkrumah; wadenkrumah@news.oregonian.com
Memo to ambitious Oregon legislators: Buying expensive furniture in an election year? Maybe not the best idea, politically.
U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith takes full advantage of Oregon lawmakers' decision to upgrade their offices to the tune of $2.1 million. In an new campaign ad, he scorches his Democratic opponent Jeff Merkley for going along with plush new decor.
The ad highlights the $4,000 walnut desks, the $2,700 leather sofas, the flat screen TVs and -- well you get the picture, literally. As Oregon House speaker, Merkley was a key figure in the decision.
"It speaks to the misplaced priorities in tough economic times," said Lindsay Gilbride, Smith's campaign spokeswoman. "Is that really what Oregon taxpayers expect their dollars to go on?"
Of course, the ad leaves Smith open to similar questions on his office furniture. Gilbride said there are strict and "frugal" Senate mandates on how much taxpayer money can be spent on decking out the workplace -- although that doesn't prevent Smith from spending his own money to upgrade, which he has.
"This is not about how Smith spends his personal money," she said. "It's about how Jeff
Merkley spends taxpayer dollars."
Mer