Music executive and aviation enthusiast Dave Shapiro has been identified as the owner of the private aircraft that crashed into a San Diego neighborhood on Thursday.
An Associated Press report cited the music agency Sound Talent Group, which confirmed Shapiro, 42, died in the crash along with two employees.
All six people aboard the Cessna Citation 550 were killed in the crash as the pilot—whose name hasn’t been specified—attempted to approach Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport (KMYF) for landing during heavy fog. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has reported finding parts of the jet beneath power lines about 2 miles southeast of the airport.
Shapiro is a prominent music executive and drummer, and a pilot who owns the flight school and ferry flight business Velocity Aviation. The aviation company also provides aircraft leasing and sales consulting services.
Velocity Aviation’s website stated that Shapiro began flying aircraft when he was 22 years old and became “hooked to all things aviation.” He continued to grow his aviation business alongside his career at major Hollywood agencies before eventually founding Sound Talent Group.
“No matter what businesses Dave was involved in, the one constant has always been aviation,” Velocity Aviation’s website stated. “From BASE jumping to aerobatic flying, helicopters to twin engines, flight instructing to furthering his own education, [it] doesn’t matter to Dave as long as he gets to be in the sky.”
The website stated that Shapiro had over 15 years of flight experience and had flown over a million miles logging thousands of hours.
