Dave Shapiro, a heavy metal music executive who was the US talent representative for a slew of Australian musicians, has died in a San Diego plane crash.
The 42-year-old was listed as the owner of the plane that crashed, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
His agency website said he managed Australian bands including Parkway Drive, Amity Affliction and Northlane.
The music agency Sound Talent Group confirmed Shapiro, as well as two employees and the former drummer for metal band The Devil Wears Prada, died in the crash on Thursday morning, local time.
"We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends," the agency said in a statement.
Shapiro co-founded Sound Talent Group with Tim Borror and Matt Andersen in 2018.
The agency's roster focuses on alternative bands but has included pop acts such as Hanson and Vanessa Carlton.
The members of Byron Bay band Parkway Drive paid tribute to Shapiro, saying they were "heartbroken" over the loss of their "good friend" and US booking agent.
"We send all our love and support to Dave's family, friends, and the team at Sound Talent Group during this extremely difficult time," they wrote in an Instagram statement.
"Our thoughts and condolences are also with the live ones of Daniel Williams and the extended music community."
Fellow Australian band Yours Truly, which Shapiro also represented, reposted a triple j post, writing: "Thank you for everything, rest in peace."
Shapiro owned flight school
Shapiro was included in Billboard's 2012 30 Under 30 list recognising rising stars in entertainment.
Industry veterans said Shapiro paved the way for the formation of other independent agencies and helped many alternative bands find audiences in the mainstream.
He was also a flight enthusiast, at one point opening an office of his talent agency at a hangar in San Diego.
Flying "helps me focus and helps me not be distracted by all the nonsense in the world, and whatever's going on outside the plane kind of doesn't matter in those moments," Shapiro said in a 2020 podcast interview.
Shapiro owned a flight school called Velocity Aviation and a record label named Velocity Records.
Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley credited Shapiro with helping build the rock band back up during a "low point" in its career.
Ahead of their last conversation, Shapiro flew in his new plane to see Sum 41's induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in March.
He promised Whibley he would come back.
"Me and my wife, we're going to fly to you," Whibley recalled Shapiro saying to him.
"We're going to pick you up and we're going to go somewhere crazy for lunch."
Fog a factor in crash
National Transportation Safety Board investigator Dan Baker said officials would work over the next year to determine what caused Shapiro's Cessna 550 Citation to crash.
Early investigations show that the runway lights had been out at the airport where the aircraft planned to land.
A weather alert system that should have warned of heavy fog was also not working.
The pilot reportedly acknowledged the weather conditions for landing at the small airport were not ideal and debated diverting to a different airport while discussing the visibility with an air traffic controller, according to audio of the conversation posted by LiveATC.net.
Ultimately, the pilot is heard saying that he will stick with the plan to land at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
"Doesn't sound great but we'll give it a go," he tells the air traffic controller.
The plane crashed into a US Navy housing neighbourhood about 3.22 kilometres from the airport.
No-one in the neighbourhood was killed but eight people were treated for smoke inhalation and non-life-threatening injuries.
ABC/AP
