FREDERIKSTED — Kyle “Kylo” Sylvester, the lead singer for the soca group Kylo & Stylee Band, was among the five passengers who died aboard the Beechcraft Baron 58 aircraft that crashed Thursday night, the Virgin Islands Free Press has learned.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said catastrophic engine failure brought down the airplane registered to a David Richardson on St. Thomas at 8:54 p.m. on Thursday.
If Richardson is the owner-operator of the aircraft, that means he, Sylvester and three other people died in a fiery crash as the airplane tried to make an emergency landing after attempting to take off from Henry Rohlsen Airport.
“Pollo Goodings in #StyleeBand is my brother-in-law,” Phoenix Soul wrote on Twitter. “He’s devastated but he’s recovering well. I met Kylo a few times. Great kid.”
The Virgin Islands Port Authority (VIPA) is responsible for identifying the passengers who died on the aircraft, but VIPA Director David Mapp had not done so as of Saturday morning.
Lt. Gov. Osbert Potter identified Sylvester as the Kylo & Stylee Band member who died in the crash. Sens. Janelle Sarauw and Janette Millin Young expressed condolences about the “tragedy” during a Senate hearing on Friday.
“As members of the very popular Stylee Band were embarking on bringing much needed stress relief to their fans and the general community during the upcoming festival season, our hearts are heavily laden with this very untimely tragedy,” Potter said.
