Exclusive Scoop: What the Skies and Black Boxes Reveal About Daniel Williams’ Tragic Final Flight—And Why the Stars May Have Seen It Coming
Added on May 23, 2025 inCelebrity News Cards
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It’s curious how the stars align on days when tragedy strikes—on May 22nd, under Gemini’s quicksilver sky, a somber tale unfolded miles above San Diego. Daniel Williams, the fiery drummer once pounding the skins for Ohio’s metal outfit The Devil Wears Prada, was aboard a private Cessna 550 that never made it safely to its destination. Traveling alongside talent agent Dave Shapiro and others, the small plane’s journey from New Jersey to California turned catastrophic just after midnight, crashing into a San Diego neighborhood and igniting a blazing inferno that claimed six lives. Was it just a cruel twist of fate, or could the airy, fast-talking Gemini have whispered a caution the passengers never heard? As investigators hunt down answers, and tributes pour in for the fallen, we’re left pondering how fleeting—and fragile—our earthly passages really are.
Further details surrounding the devastating plane crash which killed drummer Daniel Williams and five others have emerged.
The musician, who is a former member of the Ohio-based metal band The Devil Wears Prada, is among those who perished in the tragedy which took place in the early hours of Thursday (22 May) morning.
He had been onboard a Cessna 550 owned by talent agent Dave Shapiro, 42, while travelling from New Jersey when horror struck in the skies as he made his way to San Diego.
According to flight tracking data, the small privately-owned plane took off from Teterboro Airport on Wednesday (21 May) evening at 11.15pm.
It is understood that the aircraft stopped for fuel in Wichita, Kansas, before it then continued it’s journey to the Californian city, although it never reached the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport as planned.
Debris is littered across the San Diego neighbourhood where the plane crashed on Thursday (SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP via Getty Images)
Instead – just hours after Williams, 39, had shared a tongue-in-cheek post from the cockpit – the plane came crashing down in a neighbourhood in San Diego, careering into several homes shortly before 4am.
The drummer, Shapiro and two Sound Talent Group employees – which is a music agency Shapiro co-founded in 2018 – were reportedly killed in the fireball which ensued.
A spokesperson for the company said: “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.”
William’s former The Devil Wears Prada bandmates also paid tribute to the talented artist and Shapiro in a social media post, saying: “No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever.”
Drummer Daniel Williams is among the victims of the horror incident (Instagram/@xcadaverx)
Emergency responders have now shared some insights from the distressing scene they were called to in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Reports suggest that numerous homes were ablaze, alongside half a dozen vehicles, as jet fuel leaked down streets close to the crash site – in the neighbourhood which is designed to house military service personnel that is managed by Liberty House Homes.
Eight residents were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation and non-life-threatening injuries, officials said, including one person who was injured while escaping their property out of a window.
Discussing the ‘horrific’ scene, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said: “I can’t quite put words to describe what the scene looks like, but with the jet fuel going down the street, and everything on fire all at once.
Investigators described the scene as ‘horrific’ (Ariana Drehsler/Getty Images)
“It was pretty horrific to see,” Wahl said.
The subsequent fog which engulfed the area following the plane crash was so thick that ‘you could barely see in front of you’, assistant San Diego Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said, adding: “We have jet fuel all over the place”.
Eddy explained it was a ‘bit of a miracle’ that there were no fatalities on the ground, as one resident told how the crash ‘put our truck in our living room’.
Investigators have also been looking at the flight path of the aircraft while trying to piece together what went wrong.
Eliott Simpson, a senior aviation accident investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), told a news conference that it seemed as though the plane had ‘struck power lines’ before coming down, USA Today reports.
Explaining that NTSB experts will be handling the probe, he said: “(The plane) struck power lines about two miles southeast of the airport, then collided with a house.”
Tributes have been pouring in for Williams, Shaprio and the three unidentified victims who were also on board the fateful flight.
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