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HARROWING audio has captured a private jet pilot’s call to air traffic controllers before it crashed in a neighborhood, killing at least two people.
The plane, carrying Daniel Williams, the former drummer for The Devil Wears Prada, and a music titan, smashed into a San Diego home in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The Cessna plane the pair were traveling on crashed during heavy fog and the impact of the smash saw homes and cars torched.
It crashed as it was preparing to land at the city’s Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport and moments before the smash, the pilot asked air traffic controllers about the weather, as reported by the ABC affiliate KGTV-TV.
“Alright. Doesn’t sound great,” he was heard saying.
“But we’ll give it a go.”
An automatic weather report about conditions at the airport was missing some details.
A visibility reading was missing, as was information about wind speeds.
Investigators have not yet recovered the black box.
The pilot didn’t log any distress calls, nor did they record any problem with its equipment.
Williams, who played for the Christian rock band between 2005 and 2016, and Dave Shapiro are two of the victims that have been identified.
Shapiro was a music agent, as well as an avid pilot with 15 years of experience.
His death was confirmed by his talent agency, Sound Talent Group.
In 2020, Shapiro shared photos of his pilot licenses.
“For non-aviators, this is the license above commercial,” he wrote in the caption.
“Although I have a career and don’t plan to change that, I always want to learn more and be a better pilot.
“Passed the check ride a couple months ago and got my cert in the mail.”
Devastated pals have paid tribute to Shapiro.
Lionel Conway, who has formerly worked with hit stars such as Cat Stevens and Bob Marley, described Shapiro as a beautiful guy.
“He was very well liked… no one could say a bad word about him,” Conway told the NBC affiliate KNSD-TV.
Shapiro and Conway were reportedly in the process of finalizing a new music deal before the tragedy unfolded.
Cops have not named any additional victims.
But, three other STG employees died in the crash, according to Billboard.
Federal aviation chiefs confirmed six people were on board the plane.
Fire chiefs do not believe there are any survivors.
Up to 10 people can fit on board the jet, and it took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey late on Wednesday night.
It then made a stop in Wichita, Kansas, to re-fuel.
The plane spent around an hour on the ground, according to Flight Radar data.
Then, it took off en route to San Diego but failed to reach its end destination.
The plane came down just two miles from the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in the city.
Officials revealed it appeared to hit power lines before smashing into the ground.
Eight locals were injured, but only one was taken to the hospital.
Before taking to the air, the musician shared a picture of himself by the controls.
The musician took another picture of the plane sitting on the tarmac.
Williams’ dad told TMZ that he was goofing off.
He confirmed that his son didn’t have a pilot’s license.
DEADLY SMASH
Officials revealed the impact of the crash set 15 homes alight, and torched several cars.
Pictures from the scene showed debris strewn across the road.
Homes were covered in soot, while cars parked nearby were burned out.
A Honda Accord had been melted, while a sedan was turned into a charred wreck, as reported by The Los Angeles Times.
Local officials claimed it was a miracle people in the neighborhood were not killed.
An evacuation center was set up, but locals affected don’t know when they’ll be able to head back to their homes.
The tragedy happened less than two years after a Cessna P210N pilot died after a plane crashed in La Jolla, California.
In December 2021, a medical plane with two pilots and two nurses were killed – moments before it was set to land.
The victims were identified as nurses Tina Ward and Laurie Gentz, and pilots Douglas James Grande, and Julian Bugaj, 67.
