According to a Lincoln man, his pilot daughter, 36-year-old Chandy Clanton from Lincoln, was getting ready for an air show in north west Missouri when her plane went down killing her. The crash happened just east of Tarkio, MO.

Chandy's father and brother said this will be a hard time, but also a time of remembering the good things about Chandy. Both friends and family called her a competitive tri-athlete, talented pilot and a good mother to her two young sons. Although taken before her time, Chandy died doing something she loved.

The father-daughter bond runs deep for Harry Barr, he taught his daughter Chandy to fly.

"She would watch her brother fly, go places, pick up his girlfriend, have fun, go places and she kind of picked up on that and said, 'OK, my turn,"' said Chandy's father Harry Barr.

After picking up flying toward the end of high school, Chandy would go on to fly iconic planes like the DC-3 and the Learjet. But it was her stunt plane she loved most.

"She liked to yank it and bank it," said Barr. "She decided she wanted to hit the national competition scene."

It's memories of his daughter as a three-time member of the U.S. Unlimited Aerobatic Team which evoke Barr's strongest memories. A favorite memory is a contest qualifying flight in Grenada, Spain.

"She ended up number one, top of the heap after the qualifying flight," said Barr. "Now that was really great for me to see that."

But Chandy's life-long love of flying took her life when her plane went down in the middle of an aggressive maneuver.

"Any dad is sad to see one of the kids go... It's devastating," said Barr.

He said Chandy will be remembered most as a mother to her 10 and 7-year-old boys.

"There isn't anything she couldn't make happen for the boys. If it could happen, she wanted them to be there," said Barr. "For example, down there on the trampoline the youngest one was having trouble with his back flips. So, she gets on the tramp. and says this is how you do it."

Barr also describes Chandy as someone who gave back to her community and church.

"All the proceeds she won at air shows this year she was giving to the mission," said Barr, referring to a mission project in Iowa Chandy became involved with.

Barr said he will always remember Chandy as any proud father remembers his daughter who's taken too soon.

"She far exceeded my expectations as a person, competitor and individual. I'm proud of her."

Officials still aren't sure what caused Chandy's plane crash, but the FAA is investigating to find out what went wrong.

Family and friends will hold a memorial for Chandy at 10:30 Friday morning at Messiah Lutheran Church.