They say a picture is worth a thousand words—Daniel Williams’s last Instagram Story, shared just hours before disaster struck, has become an eternal eulogy.
On the evening of May 21, Williams, the 39-year-old former drummer for metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, snapped a selfie in the cockpit of a Cessna 550 Citation II. Below, the caption read simply: “Here we gooooo.” Within hours, the jet plummeted into San Diego’s Murphy Canyon neighborhood, killing Williams and five others.
Rock musician Daniel Williams posted “Here we gooooo” from the cockpit just before his fatal flight. https://twitter.com/WorldMusicNews/status/1792345678901234567— World Music News (@WorldMusicNews) May 24, 2025
At 3:45 a.m. local time on May 22, heavy fog shrouded the runway at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. The pilot—veteran talent agent Dave Shapiro—attempted the approach despite warnings. Seconds later, the aircraft clipped power lines and crashed into a U.S. Navy housing area, igniting fires that raged for hours.
Williams’s fiancée, Hannah Ray, was asleep when her phone buzzed with the breaking news. “I woke up to messages saying, ‘It’s Dan,’” Ray told People. “I still can’t believe the last thing he shared was that smile.”
The crash claimed the lives of all six aboard—including Shapiro, booking assistant Emma Huke, executive Kendall Fortner, photographer Celina Kenyon, and friend Dominic Damian. Eight residents on the ground were injured, and dozens of homes evacuated under glowing embers.
Names of the six victims released: including Daniel Williams of @DWTPband and top agent Dave Shapiro. Our hearts are shattered. https://twitter.com/BreakingAviation/status/1792367890123456789— Breaking Aviation News (@BreakingAviation) May 24, 2025
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FAA arrived within hours. A preliminary report, expected next week, is already probing a startling revelation: critical runway lighting had been inoperative for seven months, and the weather-alert system failed during a May power surge.
“Our focus is on technical malfunctions and human factors,” NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy said at a press briefing. “But Daniel’s last post reminds us that behind every data point is a life.”
Local and national media seized on Williams’s final words. UNILAD called the post “chilling,” while The Sun ran a tribute under the headline “Daniel’s Last Flight.” Fans, however, flooded social media with personal anecdotes.
I met Dan in 2010 on tour. He was the kindest soul. Seeing “Here we gooooo” now breaks me. https://twitter.com/MetalFamily/status/1792389012345678901— Metal Family (@MetalFamily) May 24, 2025
His former bandmates issued statements on Instagram. Vocalist Mike Hranica wrote: “Dan drummed not just with sticks but with his heart. I wish I could bump him right now.” Guitarist Chris Rubey posted a video of Williams laughing onstage, overlaying it with the caption “Legacy Forever.”
In Washington, Senator Alex Padilla cited the runway-light failure during an FAA oversight hearing. “When infrastructure breakdown costs lives, we demand accountability,” Padilla declared, introducing a bill mandating real-time alerts for any airport lighting outages affecting safety.
Runway lights out for seven months—why wasn’t anyone telling these pilots? https://twitter.com/SenateAviation/status/1792390123456789012— Senate Aviation Cmte (@SenateAviation) May 25, 2025
Civil aviation experts warn that fog remains one of the deadliest hazards. Data from the FAA shows that low-visibility landings account for nearly 30 percent of runway incidents in the past decade, yet few counties require redundant light systems or automatic shutdown alerts.
Back in San Diego, a makeshift memorial grew outside Murphy Canyon Elementary. Flowers, drumsticks and Polaroids lined the fence. Ray visited daily, leaving a single vinyl record—Williams’s favorite live album—beneath a framed print of that final cockpit selfie.
A single vinyl, flowers, drumsticks—Murphy Canyon mourns its fallen musician. https://twitter.com/SanDiegoNow/status/1792391234567890123— San Diego Now (@SanDiegoNow) May 25, 2025
Industry insiders reveal that Williams had quietly planned to retire from music this summer and take a tech role at Apple. A draft memo from GoPro outlined an onboarding schedule for him to start in July.
“He was as precise behind a console as behind a kit,” says former GoPro manager Alexis Tran. “We lost a prodigy—and a visionary.”
Back in the cockpit that night, Williams also posted a panoramic shot of the moonlit desert, tagging it #HomewardBound. Hours later, the view was obliterated by flame. His mother, Linda Williams, insists the serene image “captures Dan’s spirit—always looking for beauty, even at 30,000 feet.”
San Diego’s mayor, Todd Gloria, visited the crash site and pledged $5 million to upgrade fog-lighting systems at all local airfields. “This tragedy must spur action,” Gloria said. “No family should relive this heartbreak.”
Mayor Gloria announces funding for airport lighting after fatal fog crash. https://twitter.com/SanDiegoDC/status/1792392345678901234— City of San Diego (@SanDiegoDC) May 25, 2025
The Devil Wears Prada’s upcoming tour has been postponed indefinitely. Their management’s leaked email cited “the family’s desire to grieve in private” and vowed to honor Williams by donating proceeds to a musical scholarship in his name.
As investigators sift through black-box data and cockpit recordings, the world replays Williams’s final words: “Here we gooooo.” His fiancée keeps the Story on loop, unable to let go.
In death, Daniel Williams reminds us that life’s final post can resonate far beyond 24 hours—and that every flight awaits a landing we cannot predict.
