Steve Mensch, the president of the Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios, has died, according to CBS News. He was 62.
On Friday (December 6), Mensch was piloting a small plane that crashed on Florida's Gulf Coast. Tyler Perry Studios confirmed that its president and general manager died in the crash.
"We are incredibly saddened by the passing of our dear friend Steve Mensch," the studio said in a statement. "Steve was a cherished member of our team for more than eight years and well-beloved in the community of Atlanta. It's hard to imagine not seeing him smiling throughout the halls. We will miss him dearly. Our heart goes out to his family as we all send them our prayers."
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, which occurred in Homosassa, about 60 miles north of Tampa. The plane Mensch was piloting was registered to his home address in the Atlanta suburb of Fayetteville.
Tyler Perry released a statement addressing Mensch's death.
"I've been trying to understand this tragedy all day—what went wrong with that plane. Steve loved flying, and he loved that plane; he took so much pride in it. Steve Mensch was truly a kind soul and a great leader at the studio. We all adored him and are devastated that he's gone. I'm praying for his family as we all try to make sense of this heartbreak," Perry wrote in an Instagram post on Saturday (December 7).
Mensch died on the same day that Perry's The Six Triple Eight, a war drama about a mostly Black and all-female World War ll battalion shot at the Atlanta studio.
Mensch is survived by his wife, Danila, and his three children.
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