Cirrus Comments on Death of Engineer in Aircraft Crash

Feb. 27—DULUTH — Cirrus Aircraft confirmed that Dave Rathbun, the Hermantown man killed in a small-plane crash near Grassy Point in West Duluth on Friday afternoon, was an employee.

Rathbun was the Vision Jet chief engineer at Cirrus, where he had worked for 26 years, according to a statement released by the company Monday afternoon. He was flying solo in a privately owned 2016 Cirrus SR22 and was the only person involved in the crash.

"We are in close contact with the Rathbun family, and our thoughts and prayers are with them at this time," read the statement from Cirrus. "His passing is a profound loss for the Cirrus family. His presence and character will be missed, but his legacy will be indelible. A key contributor throughout his 26 years at Cirrus Aircraft, Dave played a crucial role in the early design and certification of the SR20. Following similar work on the SR22 and SR22T, Dave was instrumental in the development and successful entry into service of the SF50 Vision Jet."

Cirrus also stated that personnel are "fully engaged in supporting all appropriate authorities in the investigation" and that they will not comment on the crash details or "speculate about the accident's cause" out of respect for those involved.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are set to investigate the crash.

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