A famous drummer is feared to have died in a private jet crash that killed at least two people hours after he shared a photo of himself at its controls.
Daniel Williams, formerly of hugely-popular Christian metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, filmed himself boarding the Cessna 550 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey late Wednesday night.
The drummer, 39, also shared pictures of him at the controls of the small aircraft, said that he was the ‘co-pilot now’. It’s unclear if he was joking.
An eerie final post showed him at the plane’s controls with the caption: ‘Here we gooooo’
The plane, with a tail number of N666DS, took off from Teterboro Airport in on Wednesday at 11.15pm ET, tracking data reveals.
It stopped for fuel in Wichita, Kansas before continuing on to California, where the Cessna ultimately crashed in a quiet military neighborhood in San Diego, close to its intended final destination of Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
Williams, 39, lived in San Diego, the intended destination of the jet. He left The Devil Wears Prada – a hugely popular Christian metalcore band in 2016 – and became a software engineer.
He shared a snap to his Instagram stories as he boarded the plane in the Garden State late Wednesday night.
Williams told his followers that he was flying with music agent and pilot Dave Shapiro, who, according to aircraft registration records, had just purchased the eight-seater plane in July last year.
On Wednesday, investigators confirmed both people on board the plane died. Eight people were injured, although investigators haven’t said if they were on the ground.
Shapiro’s friend Ryan Bruce, a music producer, paid tribute to the pair, telling Daily Mail: ‘Dave changed mine and a lot of other people’s lives and the community he built and the network of bands he has worked with and supported will never forget him.
‘Daniel left us a lot of music to remember him by and he was a super sweet guy.’
Daniel Williams, a former member of Christian metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, was on board the Cessna 550 plane overnight. Williams is pictured performing at the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at San Manuel Amphitheater on June 30, 2012
This picture appears to have been taken before the jet departed from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on Wednesday at 11.15pm. It is unclear if Williams got off the plane in Wichita or continued onwards to San Diego
Bruce also remembered the pair on his Instagram. He shared a photo of of Williams and his friend Shapiro with the captions ‘Rest easy’ and heart emojis.
Music executive Terrance Coughlin paid tribute to Williams and Shapiro on X.
He wrote: ‘Rest in Peace Dave Shapiro, Daniel Williams, and everyone on that flight. Some of my very first shows were booked through Dave.
‘I had a handful of shows with Daniel, always a pleasure to see him play. Gone way too soon.’
Tony Cappocchi, a music agent, paid tribute to Shapiro, telling Daily Mail: ‘Dave was a great friend of ours.’
A spokesperson for Sound Talent Group confirmed in a statement to Daily Mail that three of its employees were on the plane.
‘We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends. Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy,’ the statement read. ‘Thank you so much for respecting their privacy at this time.’
It is unclear at this time which Sound Talent Group employees were on the plane.
The Cessna then flew to Colonel James Jabara Airport, landing there at 1:49am CT. It refueled and took off again at 2:36am CT.
The plane had been due to arrive at San Diego’s Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport just before 4am PT, but never made it to its final destination.
The plane crashed just before 4am into the US military’s largest housing neighborhood. Officials say that everyone on board the luxurious plane is feared to have died in the ensuing fireball.
Williams shared a snap to his Instagram stories as he boarded the plane in the Garden State, telling his followers that he was flying with music agent and pilot Dave Shapiro
The drummer, 39, also shared pictures of him at the controls of the small aircraft, joking that he was the ‘co-pilot now’
At least 10 houses were burned or hit by debris that spread over a wide area, and cars on both sides of a street went up in flames.
A family of five was hospitalized for smoke inhalation and another person was treated at a hospital for injuries sustained while climbing out of a window trying to flee.
Two others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.
San Diego officials haven’t released details about the plane but did confirm the flight had come in from the Midwest.
Flight tracking site FlightAware lists a Cessna Citation II jet scheduled to arrive at the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive airport in San Diego at 3.47am from the small Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas.
Officials at the Kansas airport said it made a fueling stop in Wichita. The flight originated Wednesday night in Teterboro, New Jersey.
The airport in Teterboro is about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Manhattan and is used by the rich and famous to fly in and out of New York City on private jets.
Music executive Terrance Coughlin paid tribute to Williams and Shapiro on X
Music producer Ryan ‘Fluff’ Bruce (pictured) has paid tribute to Williams and Shapiro. He told Daily Mail: ‘Dave changed mine and a lot of other people’s lives and the community he built and the network of bands he has worked with and supported will never forget him. Daniel left us a lot of music to remember him by and he was a super sweet guy’
Bruce also remembered the pair on his Instagram. He shared a photo of of Williams and his friend Shapiro with the captions ‘Rest easy’ and heart emojis
Daniel Williams is pictured attending a concert in a photograph shared on his Instagram page
The plane crashed just before 4am into the US military’s largest housing neighborhood. Officials say that everyone on board the air carrier are feared dead
Debris covers the ground after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood
In the San Diego neighborhood, the smell of jet fuel lingered in the air hours after the crash while authorities worked to extinguish one stubborn car fire.
First responders described a frightening scene in the aftermath of the crash.
‘I can’t quite put words to describe what the scene looks like, but with the jet fuel going down the street, and everything on fire all at once, it was pretty horrific to see,’ San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
Chunks of metal from the aircraft littered the street, but no discernible body of the plane could be seen.
Half a dozen fully charred cars sat on the street, and tree limbs, melted trash cans, glass and pieces of white and blue metal were scattered around.
At the end of the block, black smoke billowed as a car continued to smolder while water mixed with jet fuel flowed down the street.
More than 50 police officers responded to the scene within minutes and began evacuating homes. At least 100 residents were displaced to an evacuation center at a nearby elementary school.
Police officers were rescuing multiple animals, including three husky puppies that were rolled away from the crash scene in a wagon.
A few blocks away, families stood in their pajamas in a parking lot waiting for word of when they could return to their homes.
Police tape blows in the wind next to a burned vehicle after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood
The neighborhood is made up of single-family homes and townhomes. Montgomery-Gibbs airport is about 2 miles away.
San Diego Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said it was very foggy at the time the private plane crashed. ‘You could barely see in front of you,’ he said.
Officials were looking into whether the plane clipped a power line before crashing into the neighborhood. The Federal Aviation Administration said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation.
In October 2021, a twin-engine plane plowed into a San Diego suburb, killing the pilot and a UPS delivery driver on the ground and burning homes. It was preparing to land at the airport.
In December 2008, a US Marine Corps fighter jet slammed into a house in San Diego’s University City neighborhood, causing an explosion that killed four people inside. The Marine Corps blamed the crash on mechanical failure and human error.
