Music executive Dave Shapiro among victims of San Diego plane crash

Yahoo

23-05-2025

Music executive Dave Shapiro, whose clients included Sum 41, Dave Navarro, Hanson and Bush, was among the people killed in a plane crash Thursday morning in San Diego. He was 42.
The crash also claimed the life of Daniel Williams, a former drummer in the Christian metal band The Devil Wears Prada.
Shapiro, an upstate New York native, was one of the founders of Sound Talent Group, which also lists Built to Spill, Pierce the Veil and Guns n' Roses bassist Duff McKagan on its roster. The agency's client list largely focuses on alternative bands across the rock, punk and metal genres.
Two of Shapiro's employees also died on Thursday when the Cessna 550 hit power lines and went down in a San Diego neighborhood, roughly 2 miles from where it was planning to land at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. Those employees' identities have not been released.
Authorities were still combing the scene on Friday and recovering the bodies before confirming an official death toll and identifying the victims. However, the Federal Aviation Administration said six people were onboard the plane and there are not believed to be any survivors.
Shapiro identified himself as an airplane and helicopter pilot on Instagram, and had previously earned his Airline Transport Pilot rating, the highest level of pilot certification issued in the U.S. He also owned a flight school named Velocity Aviation.
It's unclear if Shapiro was flying the plane at the time of the crash, though he was listed as the Cessna's owner, according to the FAA.
The cause of the crash also remains unclear, but officials said Friday that the weather alert system and runway lights weren't working the airport when the jet attempted to land amid dense fog.
Air safety officials said the plane took off from Teterboro, N.J. late Wednesday night and refueled in Kansas before continuing to San Diego.
Shapiro and Williams had both been at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday to see Pierce the Veil perform, according to the Bergen Record.
Sound Talent Group, which is based is California but also operates out of New York City and Nashville, said it was 'devastated' by the loss of its co-founder and colleagues.
Shapiro is survived by his wife, Julia Pawlik Shapiro, whom he married in 2016.
With News Wire Services