Pilot who died in Monday's crash owned plane-ferrying business

MOUNT PLEASANT - The pilot killed in Monday’s plane crash was a California native who came from a family of aviators and ran his own plane-ferrying business. He also said the thrill of flying was worth every minute.

Authorities identified the man as Dustin Rabe, 29, of Los Gatos, Calif. He died from blunt force injury to the head, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office said.

In one posting on his MySpace page, Rabe - who was alone in the plane Monday - described flying as the most satisfying career he could find.

“I work for an aircraft delivery company delivering single engine aircraft over the North Atlantic to Europe,” he wrote in one entry. “Some say it is dangerous, but once you do it for the first time, the adreneline (sic) is addicting, kind of like alcohol for alcoholics, cigarettes to smokers, or herion (sic) to drug addicts.”

Rabe had left from Merritt Island, Fla., heading to Mount Pleasant on an instrumental flight plan that was to last only about two hours, the Federal Aviation Administration said. He was flying a Comp Air 8, a fixed-wing, single-engine experimental aircraft. It crashed at the East Cooper Regional Airport, bursting into flames before coming to rest in a marsh near the runway. Rabe was pronounced dead at the scene.

The plane is registered to a Delaware company called Bogco Aviation Inc. No phone number for the business is listed.

On the web page for his flying business - Ferry Flight Express in Los Gatos - Rabe said he had accumulated thousands of hours of flight experience “with most of the hours ferrying aircraft both domestically and over the North Atlantic and Pacific. I am proficient to fly all the popular makes and models of Cessna, Piper, Beechcraft, Cirrus, Diamond, etc....”

He added: “I have been ferrying for many years now and love the challenge and experience of ferrying aircraft. My goal for you is to help save you money and deliver your aircraft in the most safe, efficient means possible.”

Rabe listed himself as a graduate of San Jose State University with a bachelor’s degree in aviation. He was not married.

Rabe’s father, George Rabe of Los Gatos, said he son’s love of aviation stems from his grandfather who flew for United Airlines for 35 years. He said his son had seen the world ferrying aircraft to the islands of the Pacific and across the Atlantic to Europe, landing in Germany, Poland, Finland and Denmark. Motorcycles and quad-bikes were his other interests.

“He loved life,” said George Rabe, who is also a pilot.

FAA Inspector Steven Petrossian said the plane was consumed by fire and that the investigation into what caused the crash could take a year to complete.

The pilot reportedly told air traffic control he had the airport in sight just before the plane came down in the marsh on airport property, stopping about 100 yards from the runway.