Michael Cabe recalled with pain how he had watched a skydiving tour plane with his two sons on board crash shortly after takeoff in Hanapepe, killing them both.
“It was a tragedy,” said Michael Cabe during a phone interview from Lawton, Okla. He arrived there Monday to attend his sons’ memorial service today at the Cameron University Theatre.
On board with his sons, the tandem jumpers Phillip, 27, and Marshall Cabe, 25, of Lawton, were instructors Wayne Rose, 26, of Hanapepe, and Enzo Amitrano, 43, of Koloa, and pilot Damien Horan, 30, originally from Ireland. They also died when the single-engine Cessna 192H crashed and burned shortly after takeoff from Port Allen Airport on the morning of May 23.
Approximately 150 people, including family members, fraternity brothers from the Gamma Rho chapter of the Sigma Tau Gamma and sorority sisters from Alpha Phi, attended a candlelight vigil at Cameron University on Sunday night in remembrance of the Cabe brothers.
The Cabes had traveled to Kauai to visit their grandparents and spend time with their father. The skydive was to celebrate their birthdays, college graduations and accomplishments in the military.
Phillip’s birthday was May 21, two days before the crash. He graduated this year from Cameron University with a Bachelor of Science degree in sports medicine. Marshall, whose birthday was May 10, graduated last year from the same university with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication.
Michael Cabe recalled how he had been video-recording his sons board the plane before takeoff. The aircraft climbed about 50 feet when there was a “pop” in the motor before the aircraft plummeted to the ground. “I started running. I was screaming, ‘No, no, no!’”
He ran toward the crash scene, jumped over a small chain-link fence surrounding the large grassy landing area and pulled Phillip from the wreckage. With the help of a bystander, he pulled Phillip and Rose about 8 feet away from it. Michael Cabe attempted to get Marshall but couldn’t because of the extreme heat from the fiery wreckage. Someone yelled at him to move away from the wreckage because of the fuel.
He and a bystander administered CPR to Phillip, to no avail.
“He did not have a pulse,” he said.
Paramedics arrived and transported Phillip to Wilcox Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Michael Cabe has visited the site every day since the fatal crash. Mourners left lei and flowers nearby, and a celebration of life was held in Hanapepe over the weekend.
He described his sons as adventurous, energetic and charismatic. “They had the kolohe spirit,” said Cabe, adding they will be best remembered for “bringing a lot of happiness and joy to other people.”
