Tragic final moments of famous drummer killed in San Diego jet crash revealed… six years after he dodged death
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Gut-wrenching social media posts have revealed a famous drummer’s final moments before he died in a fiery plane crash – just six years after surviving a mass shooting.
Daniel Williams, the former drummer of Christian metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, was killed Thursday morning alongside pilot and talent manager Dave Shapiro when their small private jet plummeted into a San Diego neighborhood.
Doorbell footage captured the horrifying moment the jet crashed into the residential street and burst into a fireball, killing all six people on board.
Just hours before the tragedy, Williams, 39, had chronicled his journey from New Jersey to California in posts on Instagram.
One eerie photo captured the Cessna 550 at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey late Wednesday night as he boarded the flight, tagging Shapiro in the image.
In another Instagram story, he shared a snap of the controls of the small aircraft, writing: ‘Hey. Hey… you… look at me… I’m the (co)pilot now.’
A now-haunting final post appeared to show him taking over the controls.
‘Here we gooooo’, the caption read. That was the final social media post he made.
Daniel Williams, the former drummer of Christian metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, was killed Thursday morning in a horror plane crash
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’
The plane never made it to its final destination of San Diego’s Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, crashing down in a ball of flames just before 4am local time.
The newly released footage shows how a wall of fire erupted in the sky after the aircraft’s thunderous explosion, which engulfed a home in completely flames and sent jet fuel rolling down the streets.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that six people were onboard the doomed jet, but have not released an official number or identified the dead before investigators are still combing the scene and recovering the bodies.
Officials say they do not believe there were any survivors on board the flight, with music agency Sound Talent Group confirming to DailyMail.com that three of its employees, including its co-founder Shapiro, had died in the crash.
‘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,’ a spokesperson said.
The music producer – who also owned Velocity Records – had a pilot’s license and was listed as the owner of the plane that crashed. He had just purchased the eight-seater plane in July last year, according to aircraft registration records.
A doorbell camera captured the horrifying moment a Cessna 550 Citation jet crashed into a San Diego military neighborhood and erupted into flames, killing everyone on board
Dave Shapiro, co-founder of Sound Talent Group, and two employees were among those killed in the crash. Shapiro (pictured in December 2024) – who also owned Velocity Records – had a pilot’s license and was listed as the owner of the plane that crashed. He had just purchased the eight-seater plane in July last year, according to aircraft registration records
Nobody on the ground died, however another eight people in the street were injured.
This included a family-of-five hospitalized for smoke inhalation, a person injured while climbing out of a window trying to flee the blaze and two others treated for minor injuries.
The home that was struck was completely destroyed, with its front heavily burned and its roof partially collapsed. About 10 other properties were damaged and half a dozen vehicles ignited.
The flight took off from Teterboro, New Jersey, near Manhattan, at about 11.15pm Wednesday and made a fuel stop in Wichita, Kansas, before continuing on to San Diego.
Based on the flight path, it was bound for Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport when it struck power lines about 2 miles southeast of the airfield, authorities said.
Audio recorded by www.liveATC.net includes a brief transmission from the pilot saying he was on final approach to the airport and was about 3 miles out at 3.45am
After it emerged that Williams was on board the doomed aircraft, his band posted a heartbreaking tribute to him on social media.
‘No words,’ the band said. ‘We owe you everything. Love you forever.’
Williams’ tragic death comes just six years after he survived a terrifying near-death experience when he was caught in the crosshairs of a horrific mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio.
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
Daniel Williams is pictured performing at the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at San Manuel Amphitheater on June 30, 2012. Williams survived a mass shooting back in 2019
Surveillance footage shows Dayton Police officers arriving on the scene of the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio
Williams revealed he had a lucky escape from the gunman during the 2019 mass shooting
On August 4, 2019, a 24-year-old gunman opened fire close to the entrance of the Ned Peppers bar in the popular nightlife district, killing nine victims and wounding 27 others.
The shooter, Connor Betts, was shot dead by law enforcement officers responding to the scene. Following the attack, Williams revealed he had a lucky escape from the gunman.
The rocker – originally from Dayton but living in San Diego – had spent the night at the Ned Peppers bar with friend Hannah Ray, he posted on Twitter at the time.
‘There was an active shooter in the bar i was in tonight. I am told that he had an AR15. @HannahRayNinja and I are ok. I am so incredibly heartbroken for those affected by this. I have never been so scared in my life,’ he wrote.
‘I was in Ned Peppers. I’m still not sure exactly what happened. People were piling on top of each other to get out. It’s all a blur. F***ing awful.’
In a follow-up tweet, Williams called for greater gun control saying ‘thoughts and prayers don’t do s***. Gun control is needed. 251 mass shootings in 2019 is f***ing despicable. ‘
While he escaped that massacre unscathed, friends and music industry insiders confirmed the rocker’s tragic death Thursday.
Shapiro’s friend Ryan Bruce, a music producer, paid tribute to the pair, telling DailyMail.com: ‘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.’
Tony Cappocchi, a music agent, also paid tribute to Shapiro, telling DailyMail.com: ‘Dave was a great friend of ours.’
Music executive Terrance Coughlin also 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.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Williams’ and Shapiro’s family members.
Williams left The Devil Wears Prada – a hugely popular Christian metalcore band – in 2016 and became a software engineer.
It is unclear who was flying the plane at the time.
According to aircraft registration records, Shapiro had just purchased the eight-seater Cessna S550, with a tail number of N666DS, last July.
His company VeloCity Aviation offers a range of services from private flights to sightseeing tours – as well as a lessons ‘catered to each individual student.’
It also currently unclear what caused the jet to crash into the quiet military Murphy Canyon neighborhood in San Diego, just two miles from its final destination.
The plane took off from Teterboro Airport at 11.15pm ET Wednesday, tracking data reveals.
It stopped for fuel at Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas, at 1:49am CT.
Flight data shows it then took off again at 2:36am CT on its final doomed leg to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
It was due to arrive in San Diego just before 4am.
San Diego Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said it was very foggy at the time the private plane crashed.
The plane crashed just before 4am into the US military’s largest housing neighborhood
Debris covers the ground after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood
‘You could barely see in front of you,’ he said.
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 after at least 10 houses were burned or hit by debris from the crash.
Charred cars, burned tree limbs, melted trash cans, glass and pieces of white and blue metal were scattered around.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation.
