Five dead in fiery coastal plane crash disaster

GEARHART, Ore. - Two adults and three children were killed Monday and three others were injured when a single-engine plane crashed into a vacation rental home, leading to explosions and a huge fire in the coastal town of Gearhart.

Pilot Jason Ketcheson and passenger Frank Toohey, 58, both of Clatsop County, were inside a Cessna 172 when witnesses saw it circling the area shortly after 6:30 a.m. and then heard the engine sputter. It went down, clipping a wing on a tree and smashing into a rental vacation home at 398 N. Marion St. (pictured at right prior to the crash).

Ruth Johnson Reimann, 47, was inside at the time along with five children.

Authorities said 13-year-old Christopher Reimann jumped to safety out a second-story window while Ruth Reimann grabbed 11-year-old Sarah Reimann and got her away from the home.

The three other children in the home, identified as 8-year-old Grace Masoudi and 12-year-old Hesam Farrar Masoudi, both of Denver, and 10-year-old Julia Reimann of Beaverton, were killed.

Though they escaped, the mother and two kids were injured and were taken via helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland. The extent of their injuries was unclear.

"This is the biggest thing to have ever hit Gearhart," said City Administrator Dennis McNally during a press conference. "Such a tragedy. Everybody is devastated."

The owner of the home, Greg Marshall of Portland, told KATU the group arrived at the four-bedroom rental home Sunday and planned to stay two weeks as part of a family reunion.

One couple staying there with their kids, Frederick Masoudi and his wife Marie Johnson-Masoudi, both doctors from Denver, were out for an early morning walk Monday when the crash occurred. They returned to find the home engulfed in flames.

Witnesses said they heard an explosion about 20 seconds after the crash. The fire partially destroyed a neighboring home that was vacant, McNally said.

The pilot had rented the plane from Aviation Adventures in Seaside, McNally said. The Cessna took off from Seaside airport south of Gearhart and was heading to Klamath Falls, he said.

Conditions Monday morning were described as very foggy, and witnesses said it appeared the plane was having difficulties flying prior to the crash.

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration were on the scene Monday investigating the wreck.

Gearhart has a population of about 1,100 residents, though the population grows to about 2,500 during the busy summer tourist season, McNally said. It is located on the northern Oregon coast between Seaside and Astoria.

Gearhart Mayor Ken Smith said the last time someone died in a house fire in the city was in the 1970s.

"Today is a sad and tragic day for our community," he said.