Dan “Dawg” Delane gave a thumbs-up while piloting his single-engine plane in photos posted to the website of a Southern California based formation flying team, Tiger Squadron. The Chinese-designed 1979 Nanchang CJ-6 had “a German prop with an American paint job,” he said in a 2013 video recorded for Peninsula Seniors, a local nonprofit. “So it’s kind of a bit of a mongrel.”

The numbers “06” in military-style font and a large five-pointed star decorated either side of its dark blue fuselage. The image of a pinup girl laying semi-prone on a bomb painted just beneath the front cockpit window was a tribute to his wife, Delane joked while wearing a beige flight suit and showing off his plane in the video.

“They’re a lot of fun and very reliable,” he said in 2013. “A very robust airplane, and I’m very lucky to be able to put it on display for this Armed Forces Day celebration.”

By all accounts, the 66-year-old Wyoming resident, formerly of San Pedro, was an experienced airman. So, many of those who knew him could hardly believe that his custom stunt plane went down in the Santa Susana Mountains, just north of Porter Ranch on Saturday, June 15.

Paramedics found Delane, the craft’s only occupant, dead among the wreckage of the CJ-6, a WWII-era style plane often flown by pilots in training. Aviation officials did not immediately release information suggesting what might have led to the crash.

“We’re all pretty shocked that this happened,” said Will Smith, 51, of Northridge, a pilot who used to work with Delane. “Maybe he had some sort of mechanical or medical problem, but I don’t think it would have happened because of something he did.”

Smith described the plane that went down on Saturday as Delane’s “baby.” The veteran pilot was in the process of transporting his CJ-6 from California to an airpark in Wyoming, where he and his wife, Lori, had recently relocated, according to a statement from the FedEx Masters Executive Council, a pilot’s union.

It said his ultimate destination was an airshow in Columbia, California, where he had planned to celebrate Father’s Day with his adult children, Smith said.

Delane was certified as an airline transport pilot, flight instructor and flight engineer, Federal Aviation Administration records show. He previously worked with Eastern Airlines, FDX MEC officials said in their statement.

While working with FedEx, he was also a recognized as an accident investigator by the National Transportation Safety Board, said Shem Malmquist, 58, of Melbourne Florida. Malmquist, an active Boeing 777 pilot and visiting professor at Florida Tech, said Delane also flew F-15 and F-5 fighter jets as a U.S. Air Force Aggressor, an elite designation of airmen tasked with training America’s top fighter pilots.

“He was teaching the best of the best,” said Malmquist, who worked with Delane as an accident investigator. “Despite all of his impressive achievements, he was a person who cared about people.”

Malmquist began working with him as an investigator in 1997. He said Delane had an engineering degree and a broad range of interests that made him especially well equipped to deduce the cause of a plane crash. Malmquist described him as stoic and thorough at the scene of an investigation, and driven by a desire to prevent future crashes.

Delane retired last year as a captain from FedEx, and had served as a Line Check Airman for the shipping company, said Smith.

“That means he evaluated pilots during a flight to make sure they met all FAA and FedEx standards,” he said. “Only the most experienced and level-headed pilots are given that position.”

Delane was a member of the Tiger Squadron, and went by the nickname “Dawg,” according to his biography on the formation flying group’s website. It said he started out flying Cherokee 140 planes while in college in 1972.

He was based out of Los Angeles International Airport while working for FedEx, and called the South Bay home, according to Smith. In 2013, Delane spoke to the Daily Breeze about how he wanted to reduce the noise of airplanes operating out of LAX. The effort won him praise from community activists working to alleviate issues like noise and traffic stemming from the airport and affecting local residents’ quality of life.

“I see it as an opportunity to do right and make things better for the city,” he said. “Maybe that sounds silly. But why not? I want to think about how I can make things better.”

Outside of the cockpit, Delane was personable and easy-going, and possessed a sharp sense of humor, said Smith, Malmquist and others reacting to news of his death on social media. Many thanked him for the knowledge and experience he shared with other pilots.

Lost a friend today, accident in his Nanchang CJ6 warbird in SoCal. Dan “Dawg” Delane. He was not only an outstanding pilot and good friend but also an excellent accident investigator. — Shem Malmquist (@Shem1972) June 16, 2019

“Dan always made us laugh during layovers,” said Smith. “He was a great guy to be around and have a beer with. He’d do anything for you, but he wasn’t a pushover.”

He said Delane died doing something he was deeply passionate and knowledgeable of. Smith said news of the crash was jarring, given the former flight captain’s level of experience, but he isn’t about to second guess his chosen profession.

“For any pilot, it’s in the back of their head, but it’s just like sailing a boat and the possibility of drowning,” said Smith. “It’s dangerous. Things happen.”