Tyler Perry Studios President Dies In FL Plane Crash: Reports

CITRUS COUNTY, FL — Steve Mensch, the president of Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios, died when a small plane he was piloting Friday night crashed in Florida, according to multiple reports.

The 62-year-old studio executive’s plane crashed in Citrus County on West White Dogwood Drive near the intersection of U.S. 98 in the Homosassa area just after 8 p.m., the Florida Highway Patrol said in a news release.

The pilot, who FHP didn’t identify, was pronounced dead at the scene. Photos of the plane provided by the agency show that it landed upside down on the road.

The crash shut down a section of U.S. 19 for several hours during the Friday night investigation, the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post. The highway was closed in the area of Longfellow Street until about 2:30 a.m.

Tyler Perry Studios confirmed that Mensch, who also serves as general manager, was piloting the plane.

“We are incredibly saddened by the passing of our dear friend Steve Mensch,” the studio said in a statement provided to Pasco News. “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.”

Mensch, the plane’s only passenger, was flying a single-engine Vans RV-12IS, which was registered to his Fayetteville home, which is in an Atlanta suburb, according to the Citrus County Chronicle.

He joined Tyler Perrio Studios in 2016, not long after the company bought the 330-acre former Fort McPherson Army Base in Atlanta, reports said. He oversaw the conversion of the property into a film and TV production lot. It’s one of the largest in the U.S.

He got his start in the entertainment business working for Feature Systems, which provides equipment to production companies, and was later hired by Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting.

Before joining Perry’s studio, he served as president of another Georgia-based entertainment company, Third Rail Studios, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Mensch is also known for his work advocating for Georgia’s film tax credit, which brings in more than $1 billion a year and helped transform the state into one of the most active places for film and TV production in the country, reports said.

Gov. Brian Kemp mourned the studio executive’s death in a social media post.

“A good man and an instrumental part of a studio Georgia is proud to call its own, his achievements made our state better and brought more opportunities to its people,” he wrote in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter. “His loved ones and the entire Tyler Perry Studios team will be in our thoughts and prayers as they mourn this loss.”

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.