Popular Actor Named as Victim in Fatal Caribbean Airplane Crash Alongside His Two Children, Pilot

A horrifying plane crash which killed German actor Christian Oliver (né Klepser) and his two daughters, along with their pilot, was caught on video. iWitness News and Searchlight reported the tragic incident, which occurred Thursday in Bequia, a small Caribbean island in St. Vincent. The aircraft reportedly encountered unknown difficulties just moments after leaving JF Mitchell Airport. The 55-year-old actor was on the way to St. Lucia with his young children, aged 12 and 10.

The pilot, Robert Sachs, apparently radioed shortly after takeoff and claimed to be experiencing issues, saying he would turn back to the airport. That was the last communication from anyone aboard the aircraft.

Local fishermen and swimmers came to the scene and attempted to retrieve Oliver and the other victims from the wreckage. However, within seconds of crashing, the plane became submerged in roughly 60–80 feet of water. When rescuers accessed the plane, they found the four occupants still strapped into their seats.

Though informed by the Coast Guard that they would have to wait to remove the bodies, the fishermen knew their window was closing. “We explained to them that the tide was now starting to run, so if you left [the wreckage] there, it was a [possibility] that we wouldn’t find the plane again, that it would drift off,” the unidentified rescuer told iWitness.

Tyrone Durham, who witnessed the crash, detailed the plane’s mechanical failure to the outlet. “It seems as though the power cut out or the engine failed,” Durham explained. “It seems as though it was turning to head back to the airport...because I don’t think it had reached the [cruising] altitude, so it was apparently going back to the airport. That’s when the wind took control of it, and it came down and plunged into the water.”

Oliver was a noted actor, starring in projects opposite Tom Cruise, George Clooney, and Al Pacino. He was best known for his supporting turns in WWII-era thrillers The Good German (2006), Valkyrie (2008), and Hunters (2020), as well as the Wachowski’s Speed Racer (2008) adaptation. According to IMDb, he also produced 2021’s Wrong Turn reboot and served as “additional crew” on last summer’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

The exact cause of the crash is still under investigation.