Christian Oliver, Saved by the Bell: The New Class Actor, Killed in Plane Crash

Christian Oliver, best known to TV audiences for playing Brian Keller on NBC’s Saved by the Bell: The New Class, was killed in a plane crash on Thursday. He was 51 years old. Oliver’s two young daughters — 10-year-old Madita and 12-year-old Annik — and a pilot, Robert Sachs, also died in the crash.

The single-jet engine plane hit the water while traveling from St. Lucia from the island of Bequia in the Caribbean. The plane experienced “unexplained issues” shortly after takeoff, and an exact cause of the malfunction has not yet been determined.

“Moments after taking off, the aircraft experienced difficulties and plummeted into the ocean,” according to a statement from the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force. “Fishermen and divers from Paget Farm went to the scene of the incident in their boats to render assistance. The SVG Coast Guard was informed and quickly traveled to Paget Farm, Bequia, to lead in the rescue efforts.”

Oliver appeared as a main cast member in Saved by the Bell: The New Class‘ second season, which ran for 26 episodes in 1994. See him alongside his fellow Bayside classmates (plus Dennis Haskins as Mr. Belding and Dustin Diamond as Screech) below:

Oliver’s later TV credits included guest-starring roles on shows like Netflix’s Sense8 NBC’s Timeless and Prime Video’s Hunters. He went on to appear in a number of major films in his career, including the live-action adaptation of Speed Racer (2008) and the Tom Cruise-led World War II drama Valkyrie (2009).