Private Jet Crash in San Diego Kills Music Agency Founder and Two Employees

A tragic private jet crash in San Diego early Thursday morning has claimed the lives of three members of the renowned Sound Talent Group (STG), including its co-founder Dave Shapiro, shaking the music industry and devastating a quiet military housing neighborhood.

The crash occurred around 3:45 a.m. as the aircraft approached Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in dense fog, before slamming into U.S. Navy-owned housing. The plane erupted into flames on impact, sending jet fuel racing down the street, sparking fires, and forcing over 100 residents to evacuate, many of them military families.

“I can’t quite put words to describe what the scene looks like,” said San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl. “With the jet fuel going down the street, and everything on fire all at once, it was pretty horrific to see.”

Shapiro, the owner of the aircraft, was among those killed. The two other victims were STG employees, though their names have not yet been publicly released. The company, which has represented major acts like Vanessa Carlton, Sum 41, I Prevail, and Hanson, issued a brief statement mourning the loss of their colleagues and promising further comment once families had been notified.

STG, founded in 2018, had grown rapidly, expanding to offices in New York City, Nashville, and San Diego. It played a key role in shaping post-pandemic music tours, working with dozens of high-profile alternative and rock acts. The loss of Shapiro is a seismic blow to the industry’s independent booking sector.

Witness accounts paint a terrifying picture:

• Five people from one family were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

• Neighbors described military families rescuing each other, jumping from windows and fleeing homes as the inferno spread.

• The crash site was described as “unrecognizable” by first responders due to the intensity of the fire.

San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo commended the heroism of those who rushed to help others:

“Military families helping military families that’s the kind of unity that keeps people alive in moments like this.”

According to audio from LiveATC.net, the pilot signaled he was on final approach three miles from the airport before the crash. Aviation attorney Barry Newman speculated that the pilot was operating under instrument flight rules due to the fog, but would have needed clear visual on the runway once descending below 673 feet above ground level.

“If a pilot descends to that level and he can’t see the runway, he has to call for a missed approach or divert to another airport,” Newman noted.

This raises questions about whether a missed approach protocol was attempted or aborted too late, an issue that federal investigators will no doubt scrutinize in the days ahead.

While no foul play is suspected, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are leading an investigation into the cause of the crash, and whether weather conditions, pilot error, or mechanical failure played the primary role.

The crash is a sobering reminder of how quickly tragedy can strike, even in the quiet hours before dawn. What began as a routine business flight ended with a neighborhood in flames, three lives lost, and an industry in mourning.

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