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Investigators probing San Diego plane crash that killed 6 including drummer Daniel Williams reveal new details about potential cause

Home> News> US News

Updated 09:55 24 May 2025 GMT+1Published 09:30 24 May 2025 GMT+1

Investigators probing San Diego plane crash that killed 6 including drummer Daniel Williams reveal new details about potential cause

The NTSB is yet to confirm a cause of the crash, although highlighted two major factors that could have led to the tragedy

Joe Yates

Joe Yates

Investigators looking into why a private plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood this week have revealed potential factors that could have caused the tragedy.

At around 3.45am local time, on May 22, the small jet collided with a home in Murphy Canyon, near the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, destroying one home, damaging 10 others and forcing evacuations along several streets.

The property that was struck was completely destroyed, with its front heavily burned and its roof partially collapsed.

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Talent music agent Dave Shapiro, who is believed to have been the pilot of the aircraft, was on board with two of his employees at Sound Talent Group - Kendall Fortner and Emma Huke.

Drummer Daniel Williams, a former member of the Ohio-based metal band The Devil Wears Prada, was also on the plane, as was Shapiro's friend Dominic Damian, and photographer Celina Kenyon.

There were no survivors.

According to Dan Baker of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the administration is yet to confirm a cause of the crash, although highlighted two factors that could have lead to the tragedy.

He explained that the weather alert system at the airport the plane had hoped to land at was down due to a power surge prior to collision, while the pilot is believed to have been aware of the foggy conditions.

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The operator of the plane instead received weather information four miles to the north, from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

As well as this, the power outage caused the runway lights at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport to turn off.

The pilot is believed to have been battling with foggy conditions before sunrise all while the medium intensity light system with runway light indicator lights were out, as was the precision approach path indicator.

Dave Shapiro is among the victims of the crash in which there were tragically no survivors (Instagram/@davevelocity)
Dave Shapiro is among the victims of the crash in which there were tragically no survivors (Instagram/@davevelocity)

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Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration crash investigator, speculated that the dense fog and fatigue could have played a factor in the incident - with the pilot believed to have flown all night.

Speaking to PBS, he said: "This accident has all the earmarks of a classic attempt to approach an airport in really bad weather and poor visibility. And there were other airports that the crew could have gone to."

Ben McCarty, owner of the property that the plane collided with, explained how he and his wife were woken in the early hours of the morning by an explosion.

Ben McCarty's home was destroyed upon impact with the plane in the early hours of Thursday morning (Ariana Drehsler/Getty Images)
Ben McCarty's home was destroyed upon impact with the plane in the early hours of Thursday morning (Ariana Drehsler/Getty Images)

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He told ABC's KGTV: "All I could see was fire. The roof of the house was still on fire. You could see the night sky from our living room."

Meanwhile a spokesman for Sound Talent Group issued the following statement to the BBC: "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. Thank you so much for respecting their privacy at this time."

Featured Image Credit: NBC

Topics: California, US News, Travel

Joe Yates
Joe Yates

Joe is a journalist for UNILAD, who particularly enjoys writing about crime. He has worked in journalism for five years, and has covered everything from murder trials to celeb news.

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@JMYjourno

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