THE former drummer for metal band The Devil Wears Prada was killed in a plane crash hours after sharing an eerie post in the cockpit.
Ex-drummer Daniel Williams and talent agent Dave Shapiro died in a fireball crash in a San Diego neighborhood on Thursday morning.
The private Cessna plane crashed around 4 am Pacific after Williams shared a picture of himself at the plane’s controls.
An Instagram post showed him at the plane’s controls, and he had written a caption, “Here we gooooo.”
Shortly before the flight took off, he also posted a picture tagging Shapiro, 42, who owned the plane and used to work with the Christian metal band Williams drummed in for years.
Williams also posted a picture of the plane controls and wrote, “Hey. Hey … you … look at me … I’m the (co)pilot now.”
The Devil Wears Prada confirmed the deaths by posting a montage of pictures of both Williams and Shapiro on their Instagram late this afternoon.
They wrote, “No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever.”
Williams was seen boarding a Cessna 550 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey late Wednesday night.
Tracking data showed that the aircraft, with a tail number of N666DS, took off from the airport at 11:15 pm.
The Cessna then stopped for fuel in Wichita, Kansas, before continuing on to California.
Shapiro’s death was confirmed by his talent agency, Sound Talent Group.
“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues, and friends,” said a spokesperson for STG.
“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.”
At least two other STG employees died in the crash, Billboard reported.
Aside from being a music agent, Shapiro was an avid pilot and flying instructor with 15 years of experience.
Terrance Coughlin, a music executive, also paid tribute, saying on X, “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.”
The plane plummeted about two miles from its intended destination at San Diego’s Montgomery-Gibbs Executive airport.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14302727/daniel-williams-san-diego-plane-crash-cessna-post/
