Key Point Summary – Private Jet Crash

• A Cessna 550 jet crashed in San Diego, killing six onboard, including Daniel Williams and Dave Shapiro.
• A doorbell camera captured the fireball explosion that leveled a Navy-owned home and injured civilians.
• Shapiro, a well-known music agent and licensed pilot, was the aircraft’s owner.
• The jet had departed New Jersey, made a fuel stop in Kansas, and crashed during its final approach.
• Tributes from the music world pour in as investigators examine the wreckage.

Fireball Erupts As Jet Crashes Into Neighborhood

A San Diego community woke up to horror early Thursday as a private jet exploded mid-air and plummeted into the Murphy Canyon neighborhood. The Cessna 550 Citation was carrying six people and struck a home owned by the Navy before bursting into flames. No one aboard survived.

A doorbell camera captured the terrifying moment as the jet became a fireball, setting off explosions and igniting multiple homes and cars.

Victims Identified As Music Icons

Among the dead were Daniel Williams, drummer for the metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, and famed music agent Dave Shapiro. Hours earlier, Williams posted an eerie farewell on Instagram from the cockpit, joking, “I’m the (co)pilot now.”

Shapiro, owner of Velocity Records and Sound Talent Group, was an experienced pilot and aviation enthusiast. He had just purchased the plane last year and was listed as its registered owner.

Impact Zone Looked Like A War Zone

The crash site was strewn with wreckage. Part of a wing landed blocks away. One home was completely destroyed, and ten others were damaged. Six vehicles ignited in the aftermath.

Despite the devastation, there were no fatalities on the ground. Eight residents suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation and cuts, while escaping their homes.

Last Flight Began In New Jersey

The plane left Teterboro Airport in New Jersey late Wednesday and stopped in Kansas to refuel. Around 3:45 a.m. local time, the pilot radioed that he was on final approach to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport before disaster struck.

Fog was heavy, visibility was poor, and a power line appeared to have been clipped near the crash site, authorities said.

Shapiro’s Legacy Mourned By Music Industry

Tributes flooded in from rock bands, producers, and musicians who described Shapiro as a pillar of the alternative music world. He helped launch and sustain careers for acts like Sum 41, Vanessa Carlton, and Parkway Drive.

Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley said Shapiro had promised to pick him up in the new plane. “He was that guy I would go to for advice on things,” Whibley recalled.

Shapiro’s adventurous spirit extended beyond music—he loved flying and even got married on a glacier in Alaska, landing on skis.

FAA And NTSB Launch Full Investigation

The National Transportation Safety Board spent Friday collecting evidence from the crash scene. Investigators will analyze audio from the pilot, weather data, and mechanical records.

It’s not the first aviation tragedy in the area. In 2021, another plane crashed into a suburb, killing a UPS driver. In 2008, a Marine jet crash killed four.

Thursday’s inferno is a devastating reminder of how quickly tragedy can strike—even in the dead of night, when everything seems still.