San Jose

East Bay Family in Mourning After Plane Crash Near Mt. Diablo

An East Bay family was in mourning Sunday after a plane crash near Mount Diablo on Friday killed the pilot.

Chris de Bar's father believes that pilot was his 49-year-old son, who took off from Hayward Executive Airport on Friday night headed for his home in Granite Bay.

Christopher de Bar Sr. said his son had a passion for adventure, with a love for sky diving, motocross and scuba diving. Chris put in the time to master each skill, he said.

"He had a zest for life; he wanted to do everything," Christopher said, adding that his son also was in a heavy metal band with his brothers called The Slackers.

Flying was his newest passion. His father said Chris got his pilot's license about five months ago.

"He bought this plane he was flying in two months ago," the father said. "He loved flying."

Chris Jr. worked as an elevator service man in San Jose during the week, his father said. On Fridays, he'd fly his plane to an airport in Lincoln and then drive to his home in Granite Bay.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The wreckage wasn't discovered until Saturday afternoon.

"He wasn't so much afraid of dying as not living," Christopher said about his son, who was born in San Jose and grew up in the South Bay.

Plane crashes are extremely rare on Mount Diablo. There have been two in the past year, but before that, it hadn't happened since the 1990s.

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