A small plane piloted by the mayor of Newport crashed onto a beach near town Monday, injuring the city official and two others onboard, police say.

Mayor Dean Sawyer wrote on Facebook about five hours after the crash that he was flying back from whale watching with his passenger Debbie Reasoner and her 7-year-old grandson when the plane encountered engine trouble.

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk II crash-landed around 5:10 p.m. north of the Jetty in Newport, according to Oregon State Police. The three had left the Newport airport about 40 minutes earlier to watch whales on the coast line and then turned around, police said. The plane crashed after it couldn’t sustain the necessary altitude, police said.

Reasoner, 61, of Molalla, sustained serious injuries and was later flown to a hospital in Portland for treatment. Her grandson received apparent minor injuries, according to police.

“All three of us got out and I am home resting with torn cartilage in my chest,” Sawyer, 66, said on Facebook Monday. “I will be sore for some time.”

Sawyer wrote Tuesday that Reasoner has several broken bones from the crash and remains hospitalized. He said Reasoner’s grandson suffered minor injuries and was running around on his deck the morning after the crash.

Sawyer has had a pilot’s license for 40 years, state police said. The mayor said he bought the four-seat plane in 1982. He was elected as Newport mayor in 2018. He had previously been a city councilor.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 |@EvertonBailey

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