Victims Of Deadly San Diego Plane Crash Identified

Victims Of Deadly San Diego Plane Crash Identified

Victims of Thursday's plane crash in San Diego have been identified.

All victims of Thursday’s tragic plane crash in San Diego have been identified.

A private plane carrying six individuals clipped power lines and crashed into a home in San Diego Thursday morning. The crash left a trail of fuel, igniting a house and cars throughout the neighborhood, leading to the evacuation of nearly 100 residents.

Victims Of Deadly San Diego Plane Crash Identified

Victims of Thursday's plane crash in San Diego have been identified.

A private plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood early Thursday morning. (Photo credit: CBS News/ YouTube)

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All victims of Thursday’s tragic plane crash in San Diego have been identified.

A private plane carrying six individuals clipped power lines and crashed into a home in San Diego Thursday morning. The crash left a trail of fuel, igniting a house and cars throughout the neighborhood, leading to the evacuation of nearly 100 residents.

The Sound Talent Group announced that their co-founder, Dave Shapiro, 42, was killed in the crash. The FAA said that Shapiro was listed as the owner of the aircraft and also had a pilot’s license, though it hasn’t been confirmed that he was flying the plane at the time of the accident.

STG issued a statement following the crash, saying, “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.”

Daniel Williams, a former drummer for the band The Devil Wears Prada, was also reportedly on board. Prior to the crash, Williams posted several Instagram stories showing the plane and him seated next to Shapiro in the co-pilot’s seat. His former band seemingly confirmed the news of his death with a post on social media, saying, “No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever.”

7 San Diego News revealed the names of four more plane crash victims on Friday. The outlet shared that the other victims were Kendall Fortner and Emma Huke, booking assistants for Shapiro’s Sound Talent Group. Also on the plane were Dominic Damien, a friend of Shapiro, and professional photographer Celina Kenyon.

What we know about the victims.

Victims of Thursday's plane crash identified
Six victims of the tragic San Diego plane crash have been identified. (Photo credit: Emma Huke, Sound Talent Group, Dominic Damien, Kendall Fortner, The Feldman Family, Daniel Williams/Facebook)

Kendall Fortner

The 24-year-old was an accomplished musician who graduated from San Diego State University in 2021. She worked as an intern with Sound Music Group throughout college and accepted a position as a booking associate upon graduation.

She is survived by her parents, Gary and Kristin, her brother Justin and his wife Hannah and their son, Theo, and her brother Jordan and his wife Kailey.

Emma Lynn Huke

Huke an Orange County, California, native with a longtime passion for the music industry. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 2022 with a degree in journalism and was hired as a booking associate for Sound Talent Group in 2024.

“There was nothing Emma loved more than live music,” said the agency. “She worked hard to save up money so she could travel to concerts and festivals. And while she loved all genres of music, her favorite artists to see live were Taylor Swift and The 1975.”

Huke was also responsible for organizing, planning, and promoting some of STG’s biggest tours. She is survived by her parents, Tim and Allison, and

Huke also helped organize, plan and promote some of the agency’s biggest tours. Clients and friends called Huke “a force of nature” who brought joy and a light to everyone in her presence.

Huke is survived by her parents, Tim and Allison, and her younger sibling, Ellis.

Dominic Damien

NBC San Diego reported that Damien was a longtime friend of Dave Shapiro. He was working as a software engineer at the time of his death.

Celina Kenyon

The 36-year-old was a professional photographer and a married mother of one child. Kenyon’s mother, Jennifer Feldman, shared on social media that Celina had traveled east to photograph and support some friends. She chose to return on the private flight instead of a commercial flight so she could arrive home in time to take her daughter to school.

“Celina has always been loved and respected in her professional photography career and beyond. Family is everything to her. Celina’s legacy is her daughter and partner , her parents, as well as countless family members. Our family is devastated beyond these words. The world has lost a beautiful bright light,” her mother wrote.

Dave Shapiro

Dave Shapiro, 42, co-founded Sound Talent Group in 2018 and represented an impressive roster of artists, mostly in the punk rock and emo genres. Shapiro was an accomplished pilot and owner of Velocity Aviation. With more than a decade of flying experience, Dave also served as an instructor.

His website states that he was an adventurous soul who loved being in the sky. “From BASE jumping to aerobatic flying, Helicopters to twin engines, flight instructing to furthering his own education, doesn’t matter to Dave as long as he gets to be in the sky,” the website reads.

Daniel Williams

Williams, 39, was a founding member of the rock band The Devil Wears Prada. According to his X account, he left the band at least 8 years ago and moved into software engineering. He worked for GoPro for 8 years and recently accepted a job with Apple.

Prior to the crash, Daniel shared photos of the plane on the tarmac and pics from the plane’s cockpit.

Daniel Williams shared photos of the aircraft prior to departure.
Daniel Williams shared photos of the plane prior to departure. (Photo credit: Daniel Williams/Instagram Story)

What caused the crash?

According to the Associated Press, the Cessna Citation II was en route from New Jersey to San Diego when it crashed into a military housing complex just two miles from the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive airport.

Witnesses state that the area was covered in heavy fog at the time of the accident. The official cause of the crash is yet to be determined.

Dan Baker, an NTSB investigator, spoke during a press conference Friday afternoon and shared preliminary investigation results. He said that there were no survivors on the plane and that there were no fatalities or serious injuries on the ground.

“The pilot did not report any problems to air traffic control and he did not declare an emergency,” Baker added, saying that the NTSB has recovered the “flight track data and air traffic audio as well as the automated dependent surveillance-broadcast data.”

The NTSB also discovered that the runway lights and flight path indicator light systems at Montgomery Airport were out of service at the time of the crash.

 

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