San Diego mourned aircraft sacrifice when the NTSB probe continues

The fiery plane crash in the early morning, which broke through a Murphy Canyon district on Thursday, has demolished the life of six men and women-from an experienced music manager and drummer into an award-winning martial artist and an experienced photographer.

Since the federal authorities continue to put together the factors that may have contributed to the fatal crash in the military apartment community, more is known about the people who were on board the small company jet who cut a current transmission line and hit the residential street.

Some of those who died in the crash had already achieved a lot in their still young life, while others had just started what was supposed to come in their chosen jobs.

Among the victims, David Shapiro, a 42-year-old music agent and certified pilot who owned the company, was registered with the Cessna 550 Citation II. The authorities still have to confirm whether he was the pilot.

The medical examiner's office in San Diego County has identified five of the six victims who are at the age of 25 to 42.

Six suspected deaths when small aircraft crashes in military houses in the Murphy Canyon district

We learned the following about those who were on board the aircraft based on interviews with family members, friends and colleagues as well as official statements and social media posts.

David Shapiro, 42

Shapiro co -founder of the music agency Sound Talent Group based in El Cajon, began his musical career as a drummer and later became an agent that he did for more than 20 years, including a stay at the United Talent Agency, before he and his partners started in 2018 in 2018.

“Dave's superpower was his ability to recognize new talents, to work with their unique skills and sounds and to give them the advice and resources to make a living in the music industry,” wrote a spokesman for the Sound Talent Group. “Some of their favorite bands would not be on their playback lists at the moment without Dave.”

Nate Blasdell, the former guitarist of the Florida band, I set fire to my friends, but now an agent, said Shapiro, the first booking agent with whom he has ever worked as a musician, and attributed him to help to get his post-hardcore band on the way.

“He was really the best in the game and one of the most respected people in the industry,” Blasdell told The Union-Tribune. “I was blessed to have had the chance to work and get to know someone who is so iconic.”

While music was his passion, there were also planes. Shapiro said in a podcast interview that he was immediately enthusiastic about aviation after taking his first intro flight at the age of 22, the Associated Press reported.

Music agent Dave Shapiro and ex-Devil wear Prada drummer who was killed when the plane crash

Emma Lynn Huke, 25

Huke, who came to the Sound Talent Group as a booking employee last year, grew up in Orange County and, according to the company, was a graduate of the University of Oregon in 2022.

She was described as wise and organized after helping the agency to promote some of his greatest tours. As a fan of all music genres, Huke's favorite artists, whom she liked to see, were Taylor Swift and the 1975.

“There was nothing that Emma loved more than live music,” said a spokesman for Sound Talent. “She worked hard to save money so that she could travel to concerts and festivals.”

Her mother, Allison Huke, told The Union Tribune on Saturday that her daughter is “the light of our life and only a beautiful, bright light of the world. And the world is now a little less bright.”

Kendall Fortner, 24

Fortner worked shortly after the San Diego State University was completed in 2021 as a booking employee for the company.

Fortner was born in Glendale and grew up in Santa Clarita. As a young girl, he was in love with music and accompanied her father to concerts, according to the explanation. Later she taught herself to play a variety of instruments, including the piano and guitar.

“In her teenage years, Kendall had already shown interest in working on business music, and the job at STG was perfect, which showed her work morality and her ability to plan tours and festivals nationwide,” said the company's spokesman. “Kendall was the life of the party and illuminated any room that she entered.”

Dominic Christopher Damian, 41

Damian, a resident of San Diego, was the office crash confirmed by the medical examination office. Damian, a dedicated martial artist who was sent in Jiu-Jitsu, had recently opened his own Jiu-Jitsu School and fulfilled a long-term dream, said his coach Baret Yoshida.

“At the beginning it was a far -from dream of becoming a black belt and having her own school,” said Yoshida, his long -time friend, who trained with him on Monday in the training center in Pacific Beach. “It was a goal and I am glad that he was able to do it even a bit.”

Yoshida describes Damian as a very clever, committed person who quickly promoted the world of martial arts.

“I have trained with him since 2007 and he had a great suitability for Jiu-Jitsu,” said Yoshida. “I remember early when he was a white belt, he went to a tournament and really cleaned up, and I realized that he was really something special. He won a silver and bronze in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Championship.”

Damian, he said, was a long -time friend of Shapiro and brought the music agent to the gym to meet him. According to Damian's LinkedIn page, he worked as a senior software engineer for a fantasy sports platform.

Celina Marie Rose Kenyon, 36

Kenyon lived in Carlsbad and was a professional photographer, according to her family's explanation, who said that through their loss “beyond the words”, they were led “beyond the words”.

In the explanation of Kenyon's father Bryan Feldman, the family said that she had the private plane in the hope of coming home in time to bring her daughter to school on Thursday.

“The family is all too” Kenyon, said the explanation and described them as a “amazing mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter, partner and girlfriend”.

Daniel Williams

Williams, a former drummer of the Ohio Metal band The Devil Wears Prada until 2016, had published several Instagram stories in the hours before the crash, which show the aircraft and it on the co-pilot seat next to Shapiro.

He became software engineer after leaving the music industry and has been working at GoPro in San Diego in the past seven years, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was not only a well -known drummer and software developer, but in 2019 news when he survived a mass shooting in Dayton in the Ned Peppers Bar, in which nine people were killed and 17 others wounded.

The devil wears Prada fan groups who posted tribute to Williams who were one of the band's founding members. It was founded in 2005, named after the novel “The Devil Wears Prada” and before the film from 2006.

Williams' death still has to be confirmed by civil servants, but the band has achieved their former band member on their Instagram page.

“No words. We owe everything to you. Love yourself forever,” wrote the band.

The authors of the employees, Teri Figueroa, Alex Riggins and Phillip Molnar, contributed to this story.

How to help San Diegans, which is affected by the aircraft crash in the Murphy Canyon district

Originally published: May 24, 2025 at 8:36 p.m. PDT