With the deepest sadness, the team of PAC World regrettably informs you of the accidental death of Rainer Aberer, the person who envisioned the magazine as a service to the electric power systems protection, automation and control community and his wife Sharen Seversen. They both died in a tragic plane crash in Texas (USA) on 18 June, 2009. Both were enthusiastic private pilots and flying their Cessna 182 when the accident occurred. Authorities are still trying to determine the exact cause of the plane crash.  Radar records indicate that a haboob, a blinding wall of dust commonly found in North Africa, blew in near the crash site with gusts up to 56 miles per hour at 9:30 p.m., the time investigators believe the single-engine plane hit the ground.

Rainer and Sharen were married in 1995 and lived in Houston, USA and Klaus, Austria.

Rainer Aberer founded OMICRON electronics in 1984 and acted as CEO for 16 years. In 2000 he handed over his responsibilities to an experienced management team and enthusiastically dedicated himself to the creation of new and promising business ideas.

Sharen Seversen joined OMICRON in 1994 as President and General Manager of the newly-founded US subsidiary. With great personal commitment, she attended to the needs of a growing number of customers, and developed a broad network of distribution partners and representatives.

In January 2006 Rainer started working on establishing PAC World as a content independent magazine and web site to provide a forum for discussions and information exchange for our industry.

Rainer is survived by his sons Daniel and Lukas.