Daily News Photo by CRISTIAN SIMESCU The Rev. Gerald Williams, of the Lord God of Sabaoth Lutheran Church and Christus Victor Lutheran Church, leads a prayerat a service for pilot David Scott Bentley.

ST. THOMAS - While getting her nails done, Jane Atchley got the one telephone call all parents dread.

Last week in Rockford, Tenn., Fred Atchley called his wife stating he had something to tell her and she should stay put. Immediately, she grew concerned.

"At first, I thought it was my daughter," Jane Atchley said. "Then I remembered that I called Mark twice the night before and he didn't answer. Then I called again in the morning. When I remembered that, then I knew it was Mark."

Their son, Mark Atchley, Elim King and pilot David Bentley perished in a fiery airplane crash last week on St. Croix.

The family is unsure why he was flying to St. Thomas because he did not mention the trip. Jane Atchley knew her son was on St. Croix considering a job on a boat needing some mechanical and electrical work, she said.

It is possible he may have missed his flight from St. Croix to the mainland and decided to catch a plane from St. Thomas instead, she said. He was expected to be in Biloxi, Miss., that weekend.

"I talked to him Wednesday evening," she said. "He had several cousins coming to Biloxi for the weekend. He was really excited about that."

Atchley lived in Ocean Springs, Miss., and was a member of the Air National Guard. He was a father of two children - Christopher, 21 and Rachel, 17.

Mark Atchley was described as a humble, yet good-looking, Tom Selleck-type, with a sense of adventure. Accompanied by three friends, he sailed for seven weeks straight this summer, Jane Atchley said.

"He had lots of friends," she said. "We are finding out that he had more than we knew."

The family has scheduled a celebration of his life in Tennessee on Saturday afternoon.

On St. Croix, the family of Elim King has tentatively planned their memorial for a week from today. King's cousin, Denston Bacchus, said King, a father of five grown children, will have family flying from all over the Caribbean and even New York to attend the memorial in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

King was described by his pastor, Oriel Fleming, as a quiet, Christ-like man, who was very conscientious about his work. King, who hailed from a family of sea captains, manned yachts and gave island tours, Bacchus said.

"He gave it 101 percent," he said.

King's work was not the only place he gave his all. He was a family-oriented man who would tell anyone who asked about them.

He was identified not only by the wedding band that bore his name but by an old report card of one of his sons that survived the fire caused by the crash, Bacchus said. That son is now in technical school, Bacchus said.

"His children and his wife were number one," he said. "We love him and will surely miss him."

More than 100 friends and family of pilot David Bentley met at the Deep End on St. Croix Wednesday.

His ex-wife, Alexandra Bentley, said he was a man who had a gift with people and everyone who met him immediately loved him.

"We all loved him deeply and we all still do," she said.

Because she was too distraught, his widow, Teri Bentley, could only say that he was amazing and asked family friend Roger Gardner to comment on her behalf.

"He was larger than life," Gardner said. "He was an adventurer, an entrepreneur, a great pilot and a business person not only in the effort of building businesses but about the economic welfare of the island."

"He was proud of his home and wanted people to enjoy it as much as he did," Gardner said.

The Rev. Gerald Williams of Lord God of Sabaoth Lutheran Church in Christiansted and Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Estate La Vallee led the memorial in prayer, and several other friends also shared prayers and memories of Bentley.

Bentley was born in Tacoma, Wash., on April 28, 1964. He was married three times and had three children and four stepchildren.

The National Transportation and Safety Board concluded its investigation Monday and is expected to publish a preliminary report next week. The crash's probable cause could take up to a year before a determination is made, NTSB officials have said.