Prominent music agent Dave Shapiro is among those who were killed after a small plane crashed into a residential street in San Diego, according to his talent company.
Mr Shapiro was the co-founder of Sound Talent Group, whose clients include rock bands like Sum 41, Story of the Year and Pierce the Veil.
Daniel Williams, former drummer for the metal band The Devil Wears Prada, is also feared to have been involved in the crash. Media reports indicate he posted on social media from the plane.
The crash destroyed one home and damaged 10 other buildings in the Murphy Canyon neighbourhood, leaving charred cars and debris in the street. Eight people on the ground were injured.
“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,” a spokesman for Sound Talent Group said in a statement to the BBC.
“Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy. Thank you so much for respecting their privacy at this time.”
The company said it lost “three employees in the plane crash” including Shapiro. It did not identify the others.
San Diego authorities confirmed at least two people were killed in the crash, though the National Transportation Safety Board – which is investigating the incident – said the total death toll is still unclear. Authorities have not released the names of any of those killed.
The plane, a Cessna 550 aircraft, veered into the neighbourhood around 3:45 local time (10:45 GMT). Such planes can carry up to 10 people, including a pilot, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
In addition to his music career, Mr Shapiro was an avid pilot and a certified flight instructor with 15 years of experience, according to his aviation company Velocity Aviation.
Mr Williams, who is thought to have also been on the plane, posted several Instagram stories in the hours before the crash. The posts showed him with Mr Shapiro and him sitting in the co-pilot seat next to the music executive, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The post showed the flight number, which matched the one that crashed, the newspaper reported.
Williams was a founding member of The Devil Wears Prada and part of the Christian metal band for more than 10 years before parting ways in 2016.
The band posted a series of photos of Williams on Instagram, showing him with drumsticks, flying in an aircraft and in the band.
“no words. We owe you everything,” the post reads. “Love you forever.”
The crash caused about 100 people to be evacuated from the neighbourhood, which is just northeast of the city of San Diego.
One of the eight people on the ground who were injured was hospitalised. Others were treated at the scene.
Elliot Simpson, an investigator at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), said the plane left New Jersey on Wednesday night at around 23:15 local time (3:45 GMT) and then stopped in Wichita, Kansas, to refuel.
He said the plane neared the San Diego airport and appeared to hit two power lines before veering into the neighbourhood and crashing. Mr Simpson said it was too early to say whether that was related to the cause of the crash.
Mr Simpson added that the NTSB was in the process of collecting evidence, and said they found some fragments of the aircraft under the power lines and a wing on a nearby street.
Earlier on Thursday, Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy described the scene by saying “there’s plane everywhere”.
“As you would expect, something that large at that amount of speed, were going to have a lot of throw that goes every which direction,” he explained.
Footage from the scene shows the charred cars littered across the street.
Local resident Christopher Moore told the Associated Press that he and his wife were woken by a loud bang in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Moore said they looked out the window and saw smoke, and the couple grabbed their two young children and fled.
Once on the street, they saw a car engulfed in flames.
“It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you’ve just got to drop your head and get to safety,” Mr Moore said.
A marine who lives near the crash site told Fox News he heard a “strange whistling wheezing noise” followed by a “boom and a shake in the house”.
The aircraft appeared to be heading to Montgomery Field, an airport located 10km (six miles) north of downtown San Diego.
