Six people, apparently including the German businessman behind Gold's Gym, were feared dead Saturday after a small plane crashed into the Caribbean just off the Costa Rican coast. All five passengers were believed to be German citizens, Security Minister Jorge Torres said. The plane's pilot was Swiss. At least one other of those aboard the plane appeared to be a relative of Rainer Schaller's, with TMZ's sources saying his partner and children were on board. Costa Rican authorities said pieces of the twin-engine turboprop aircraft were found in the water Saturday, after the flight went missing Friday.
A flight plan filed for the small, charter plane listed Rainer Schaller as a passenger, reports the AP. A man by the same name runs international chains of fitness and gym outlets, including Gold's Gym and McFit. Martín Arias, Costa Rica’s assistant security minister, said no bodies had been found yet at the site, about 17 miles off the coast from the Limon airport, where the plane was headed after setting out from Mexico. "Pieces have been found that indicate that this is the aircraft," Arias said. "Up to now we have not found any bodies dead or alive."
Rainer Schaller is listed as "Founder, Owner and CEO of the RSG Group," a conglomerate of 21 fitness, lifestyle, and fashion brands that operates in 48 countries and has 41,000 employees, either directly or through franchises. His company acquired Gold's Gym in 2020, reports Forbes. "There are days when I wake up and still need to pinch myself," Schaller told Forbes of successfully acquiring the company, which had filed for bankruptcy a couple of months into the pandemic. (More Gold's Gym stories.)
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