Death of Aaliyah

Background

Aaliyah appeared on BET's 106 & Park on August 21, 2001, and announced that shooting of the video for the single "Rock the Boat", to be directed by Hype Williams, would begin the following day. Nearly sixty people worked on the video in the Bahamas. On August 22, she filmed underwater shots for the video in Miami, Florida. On August 23, Aaliyah and employees of the record company flew to the Bahamas on two flights using a Fairchild Metro III, chartered through Sky Limo. She was scheduled to leave the Bahamas on August 26, but chose to leave the day before since she had finished early. Williams recalled: "Aaliyah left mid-production, so we were still shooting when she left".

According to her brother, Rashad Haughton, this was the first time in her career that she was not accompanied by a member of her immediate family. At the time of the video's shooting, Rashad was in Australia, and her mother had recently had eye surgery and was being cared for by her father.

Death

On August 25, 2001, after Aaliyah and the record company employees had completed filming the music video for "Rock the Boat"at 6:50 p.m. (EDT), they boarded a twin-engine Cessna 402B (registration N8097W) at the Marsh Harbour Airport on the Abaco Islands, the Bahamas, for the return trip back to Opa-locka Airport in Florida. The return flight was originally booked for the following day, but filming had finished early, and Aaliyah and her entourage were eager to return to the United States. They made the decision to leave immediately. The aircraft designated for the return flight was smaller than the one on which they had originally arrived, but it accommodated the whole party and all of their equipment.

The passengers had grown impatient because the Cessna was supposed to arrive at 4:30 p.m. EDT but did not appear until 6:15 p.m. EDT. Charter pilot Lewis Key claimed to have overheard passengers arguing with fellow pilot Luis Morales prior to take off, adding that Morales warned them that there was too much weight for a "safe flight". Key further stated: "He tried to convince them the plane was overloaded, but they insisted they had chartered the plane and they had to be in Miami Saturday night." Key indicated that Morales gave in to the passengers and that he had trouble starting one of the engines.

The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, about 200 feet (60 m) from the runway. Aaliyah and the eight others on board: pilot Luis Morales III, hair stylist Eric Foreman, Anthony Dodd, security guard Scott Gallin, family friend Keith Wallace, make-up artist Christopher Maldonado, and Blackground Records employees Douglas Kratz and Gina Smith were killed. Gallin survived the initial impact and, according to paramedics, spent his last moments worrying about Aaliyah's condition. Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Atlanta, identified the aircraft as being owned by Florida-based company Skystream. Initial crash reports identified Luis Morales as "L Marael".

Key suggested that engine failure, along with overloading of the aircraft, could have caused the crash, recalling that others had seen the plane experience an engine failure on takeoff. One witness believed that no one could have survived the accident because of the crash intensity and the fact that the aircraft had disintegrated upon impact. He also recalled the condition of the bodies: "It was an awful sight. Some bodies were so badly disfigured, you couldn't identify them. And two guys were alive — one screaming and screaming for help. He was horribly burned all over." A 25-year-old charter pilot who witnessed the crash saw the Cessna go down as he was working on some machinery "about half a mile" away. He recalled the aircraft being only "sixty to one hundred feet" off the ground before it crashed. He went to get a fire truck and was stunned by what he saw upon arriving at the crash site. "I've seen crashes before but that was probably one of the worst ones," he said. "It was pretty devastating. The aircraft was broken into pieces and some of the seats were thrown from the aircraft."

The New York Post printed one of the last photographs taken of Aaliyah, wrongly labeled it as taken before the crash with a fan, Alvin Lightbourne, who wanted it as a souvenir. The photo was in fact taken when Aaliyah arrived to the Bahamas, on Thursday, August 23. She had spoken to the fan for fifteen minutes and gave him a hug as well. Lightbourne praised her for a recent donation to a charity and Aaliyah explained: "God blessed me with money and now it's time to give back."

Aaliyah talked a month before her death about her favorite dream: "Someone's following me and I don't know why. I'm scared. Then suddenly I lift off. Far away. As if I'm swimming in the air. Nobody can reach me. Nobody can touch me. It's a wonderful feeling".

Crash Investigation

According to the findings of an inquest conducted by the coroner's office in the Bahamas, Aaliyah suffered from "severe burns and a blow to the head", in addition to severe shock and a weak heart. The coroner theorized that she went into such a state of shock that even if she had survived the crash, her recovery would have been nearly impossible. The bodies, some of them badly burned, were taken to the morgue at Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, where they remained until relatives made positive identification.

The subsequent investigation determined that when the aircraft attempted to depart, it was over its maximum takeoff weight by 700 pounds (320 kg) and had one passenger more than it was certified to carry. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report stated that: "the airplane was seen lifting off the runway, and then nose down, impacting in a marsh on the south side of the departure end of runway 27 and then exploding in flames". It indicated that the pilot was not approved to fly the aircraft. Morales had falsely obtained his FAA license by showing logs of hundreds of flight hours he had never flown. He may also have falsified the number of hours he had flown to get the job with his employer, Blackhawk International Airways. Additionally, Morales' toxicology report revealed traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system.

The NTSB reported that the maximum allowed gross weight of the aircraft was "substantially exceeded" and that the center of gravity was positioned beyond its rear limit. The United States joined the investigation on August 27, 2001 as authorities from the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration arrived in the Bahamas. On August 31, the day Aaliyah's funeral, an independent expert of the Cessna Pilots Association reported that the aircraft was overloaded. His statement came as investigators declined to comment on weight being a factor in the crash.

Remains returned to the United States

On August 28, 2001, Aaliyah's remains were transported from the Bahamas back to the United States. Over one hundred people waited outside the funeral home in Nassau as four men lifted her coffin into a hearse. It was then taken to the Nassau airport where a private jet waited to return the body to Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey.

A funeral director at the funeral home in Nassau said people started calling in on August 27 to pay their respects. The other victims' bodies were repatriated on August 29. A U.S. Embassy spokesman reported that Virgin Records America paid the cost of all mortuary services in the Bahamas, the return of the bodies to the United States, as well as the funerals.

Aaliyah's family was staying at the Trump International Hotel when her body was returned. Staff reported flowers and condolences had been sent in steadily since her death. A worker at the reception desk disclosed that at least 500 bouquets, delivered mostly by grieving fans, had arrived for the family in the three days between the crash and the return of her body. Aaliyah's publicist, Jill Fritzo, said the Haughton family was touched by the support they received from fans and reported the condition of the family. "They're hanging in there. It's very tough for them".

Funeral

Aaliyah's private funeral services were held on August 31, 2001 at the Frank E.Campbell Funeral Home and at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Manhattan. Her body was set in a silver-plated copper-deposit casket, which was carried in a horse-drawn, glass hearse. An estimated 800 mourners were in attendance at the procession. Among those in attendance were: Missy Elliott, Timbaland, Gladys Knight, Lil' Kim, and Sean Combs. After the service, twenty-two white doves were released to symbolize each year of her life. Aaliyah was initially interred in a crypt on the third floor of the expansion wing of Ferncliff Cemetery's main mausoleum in Hartsdale, New York. She was later moved to a private room at the end of a corridor in the Rosewood Mausoleum. The inscription BABY GIRL appears on Aaliyah's crypt. Her father Michael, who died eleven years later in 2012 at age 61, is interred in the crypt directly above her. The inscription at the bottom of Aaliyah's portrait at the funeral read: "We Were Given a Queen, We Were Given an Angel.”

Her brother Rashad delivered the eulogy and described his sister as giving him strength. "Aaliyah, you left, but I'll see you always next to me and I can see you smiling through the sunshine," he said. "When our life is over, our book is done. I hope God keeps me strong until I see her again." He read the names of the other victims of the crash and concluded by asking mourners to pray for them as well. As Diane Haughton and the mourners left, they sang Aaliyah's song "One in a Million".

Rod Dreher, a columnist at The New York Post, criticized the funeral for being out of hand. "Right, so we're all sad that Aaliyah is dead, and no one begrudges her a proper sendoff. But a traffic-snarling, horse-drawn cortege in honor of a pop singer most people have never heard of? Give us a break." Al Sharpton responded to the column by defending the funeral and Aaliyah, questioning how: "you determine that one life is not as important as another?" Col Allan, editor of The New York Post, supported the column and Dreher. "I stand by Rob Dreher. He had a right to express an opinion."

Criticism of Blackhawk

Blackhawk International Airways came under scrutiny by the FAA. The FAA reported Blackhawk had authorization for limited use of the aircraft to the degree that it was theorized that Morales would normally not have been able to pilot it. In the three years prior to the crash, Blackhawk was cited four times for violations. The company was fined $1,500 in 1998 for violating safety rules in United States airspace. It received a warning for not testing employees for drugs in 1999, and was cited in 2000 for failing to comply with maintenance standards. Gilbert Chacon, head of Blackhawk at the time of the crash, pleaded guilty in 1993 to bankruptcy fraud involving another charter service. There was no evidence that Blackhawk managers had prior knowledge of Chacon's background.

Pilot's background

After the crash, revelations came to light concerning pilot Luis Morales III's private life, as well as his activities during the final month before the crash. From an early age, Morales had expressed interest in aviation. His grandfather was a commercial pilot who gave him his first flights at age eleven. Morales began formal flight training at age seventeen at the Isla Grande Flying School at Fernando Ribas Dominicci Airport in "Isla Grande", San Juan, Puerto Rico. Following the accident, authorities told his relatives not to discuss the case; however, Morales' sister spoke on behalf of the family. "We are confident the investigation is not going to disclose anything that would involve negligence on behalf of my brother. He has vast experience flying planes. He had been doing it since he was 14.... They are talking about a person who cannot defend himself."

Morales received his pilot's license in February 2000. His job for Blackhawk was his second attempt to work as a commercial pilot since getting his license. In October 2000, he had been turned down for being too inexperienced after applying to Tropic Air of Fort Lauderdale. Broward County Sheriff’s records showed Morales had been caught with pieces of crack cocaine in his car after being pulled over for driving his car through a stop sign on August 7, 2001; he was booked on a felony cocaine-possession charge. He was also charged for driving with a suspended license and running a stop sign. The arrest report stated that Morales told officers he was in the area to purchase powder cocaine for a friend.

The Associated Press, The Palm Beach Post and other news outlets, reported allegations that Morales had been sentenced to probation on August 13, 2001, the result of being found with a small amount of cocaine in his car during the traffic stop. Other reports, such as one by the New York Times on September 8, 2001, and another in the Sun-Sentinel, questioned whether he was qualified to fly the aircraft. Gabriel Penagaricano served as a lawyer for the Morales family and during an interview dismissed any questions about Morales' flight record as "the words of a fool". He defended Morales as a: "young man, totally dedicated to his profession ... [who] had set his sights on flying for one of the major airlines. In the meantime, he was doing what everybody else of his age and experience does, which is to fly for a charter operator in order to build up flying time." Penagaricano claimed Morales was "certainly" qualified to pilot a Cessna 402B. Shortly before the crash, Morales was fired as a pilot from Golden Airlines in Florida for failing to appear at work.

On August 28, 2001, U.S. aviation officials said that Morales had been hired by Blackhawk International Airways just two days before the crash, and was not authorized by the FAA to fly the aircraft for the operator. FAA records showed that Blackhawk International Airways was clear to fly aircraft under a single-pilot certificate. However, according to Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the FAA in Atlanta, Morales was not on the name authorization papers. Bergen did not identify the pilot who was on the papers, since "it would not be appropriate" to release it, but confirmed Morales was not qualified to fly the Cessna. Morales's father addressed his son's death and responsibility in the crash. "Luis was responsible for nine lives - eight plus his own. Someone is going to have to respond for those eight lives. And someone is going to have to respond for his life to me." He said he had spoken to his son in early August 2001 and the younger Morales related he was doing something he was passionate about.

Lawsuits

The day of the crash was Morales' first official day with Blackhawk International Airways, an FAA Part 135 single-pilot operation. He was not registered with the FAA to fly for Blackhawk and, as a result of the accident, Aaliyah's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company, which was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Barry & Sons, Inc., a corporation formed in 1992 to develop, promote, and capitalize Aaliyah, and to oversee the production and distribution of her records and music videos, brought an unsuccessful lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court against Instinct Productions LLC, the company that was hired in August 2001 to produce the music video for "Rock the Boat". The case was dismissed because New York's wrongful death statute permits only certain people related to the deceased to recover damages for wrongful death.

Family lawsuits

The families of Eric Foreman and Anthony Dodd filed lawsuits against Virgin Records America alleging the record label was negligent in chartering the aircraft that crashed, killing all the passengers. The lawsuit noted that Blackhawk had been cited four times in the previous four years. At a news conference, attorney Brian Panish charged that the crash victims died instantly because Virgin Records America "put profits over people". In less than a week, the relatives of Scott Gallin sued Virgin Records America, claiming that the record label, and its affiliated music and video production units, were liable for his death because they handled the arrangements for Aaliyah’s video shoot in the Bahamas. Gallin's relatives claimed that the record label should have hired a “competent” transportation broker and air charter company, and that Blackhawk allowed the pilot to fly the aircraft even though he was unqualified, and took off with it dangerously overloaded. Stuart Grossman represented the Gallin family during the lawsuit and reasoned that even the pilot did not want to take off because of overloading and called it "outrageous". He added: "This is a case of trying to put a size 12 foot in a size 10 shoe."

Diane and Michael Haughton Lawsuit

In May 2002, Aaliyah's parents filed a lawsuit, similar to those filed by the families of Foreman and Dodd, against Virgin Records America in Los Angeles, alleging negligence. Their lawsuit claimed that a "dangerous and unsafe configuration" of the Cessna was the cause of the crash and that it was the "wrong plane" for the charter flight; the litigation also asserted that Morales was not properly qualified to operate the aircraft. In addition to suing Virgin Records America, the lawsuit named several video companies and Blackhawk International Airways. The defendants listed were music video director Harold Williams, Instinct Productions, Big Dog House Films, Blackground Records LLC, Skystream, and Blackhawk International Airways. An investigator for the Bahamian Civil Aviation Department stated neither Blackhawk or Skystream had a permit to operate commercial charter flights in the Bahamas. In September 2003, the Haughton's lawyers filed a notice in federal court that the case had been settled with an agreement to keep the monetary details confidential.

Nassau funeral home

In August 2002, the funeral home that had prepared the crash victims' bodies, publicly accused Virgin Records of not paying its bill. Loretta Butler-Turner, of Butler's Funeral Homes and Crematorium in Nassau, told Time Magazine that $68,000 was spent preparing the bodies and, at the time, Virgin executives Ken and Nancy Berry agreed to cover all expenses. At the time of Turner's announcement, the Berrys had left the record label. Turner tried to contact executives at Virgin Records, and appealed to the US Embassy in Nassau for help, but failed to resolve the situation. "They have kept us waiting for nearly a year and have basically said, since the Berrys are no longer there, they have no responsibility to us," Turner stated. Although the funeral home did not take legal action, Turner did contact Robert Spragg, the Haughton's lawyer. According to Spragg, the record label also owed the Haughton family money for funeral costs, stating: "Those payments were never made to the family to reimburse those costs, and they were substantial".

Turner spoke to E! Online news about the case and reflected on how events had unfolded. "Because Aaliyah was, in their words, 'high profile,' they asked us to expedite things. So we were working over the weekend to get the bodies out as quickly as possible," Turner said. "[The deal] was all verbal, but the truth of the matter is, they (the Berrys) knew they were obliged. They contacted all of the families themselves, sent us all of the necessary information, and told us not to deal directly with the family members, that they would be responsible." It was reported that Aaliyah's parents planned to file a lawsuit against Virgin Records America for not fulfilling its promise to pay Aaliyah's funeral expenses. Turner said she would hold on to the victims' death certificates which were required before estates could be settled or lawsuits could be filed.

Turner said she had been unsuccessful in contacting company executives by telephone calls, letters, and faxes. She said the funeral home had a good relationship with the U.S. Embassy which, according to her, had supported a potential lawsuit against Virgin Records America since Butlers was a reputable company. "Now this reputable company (Virgin) has kept us waiting for nearly a year and have basically said, since the Berrys are no longer there, they have no responsibility to us. I don't know if they think we are some sort of Third-World banana republic and we're not up to scratch, but it just gives a pretty bad view of things in our view."

Ruling on the lawsuit against Instinct Productions

In May 2004, a judge ruled that Blackground Entertainment, Aaliyah's record company, could sue Instinct Productions, which had provided transportation for the filming of "Rock the Boat". Blackground had filed a negligence lawsuit in civil court against Instinct Productions in November 2003. Instinct Productions argued that Blackground had no right to recover damages since Aaliyah was a company employee. But Judge Carol Edmead found that Aaliyah was also Blackground's chief asset. She wrote that the company's: "growth and prosperity were primarily the result of its efforts to successfully develop and nurture Aaliyah's career". She noted the company was founded in 1992 by Barry Hankerson for the sole purpose of promoting Aaliyah, who was thirteen at the time.

Reaction

The singer's New York fans were reportedly grieving. Aaliyah had spent the first five years of her life there before relocating to Detroit. Quincy Jones told the Associated Press that he was devastated by her death. Tourism minister Turnquest stated: “We find it devastating and most unfortunate that after having this world-famous star Aaliyah and her crew select the Bahamas as their choice location for her latest video, the project has climaxed on such a tragic note”. Two days after she died, on August 27, 2001, fans gathered near her former high school to remember her in a candlelight vigil. By August 29, 2001, nearly 6,000 people had emailed BBC News "expressing shock and sorrow" at her death.

Gladys Knight said she felt "blessed" to have known Aaliyah and stated: "I watched her grow up, and, with the rest of the world, saw her achieve success with her special and unique talents". She continued: "From an early age, I knew she had enormous talents, an intrinsic gift. When she first performed with me in Las Vegas, she was still quite young, but she already had it - that spark the world would later see and fall in love with." Silbert Mills, an official on Abaco Island, reported the denizens playing her music there and added: "That's the whole tragedy of it. We felt as if we knew her, yet we didn't." Beyoncé praised her good nature and stated: "She was one of the first celebrities we met, she was so nice, we went out, we hung out with her, and it's really sad and we're trying to be strong". Lil' Kim described the crash as "really devastating" and said she "could never find anything bad about her".

Her Romeo Must Die co-star Jet Li heard of her death and was: "deeply saddened that she is no longer with us. She was a wonderful and talented artist who will be missed by everyone whose lives she touched". DMX called her: "talented, classy, warm, beautiful, compassionate, humble." Damon Dash said he was: "crushed and heartbroken over the loss of such a beautiful and talented woman whom I loved deeply and meant the world to me", and Sean Combs remembered Aaliyah as: "just one of those individuals that would light up a room", adding: "She was very down to earth. She was a special individual. . . . We all saw her grow up from a little girl into a woman. It's a hard, sad day for everyone". Ginuwine referred to her as family, said he would miss her and offered his condolences to her family, while speaking to the New York Daily News from Los Angeles. Brian McKnight complimented Aaliyah as being: "really genuine and nice and not jaded about being a star". Jill Scott said she felt numb over Aaliyah's death given her age, talent and beauty and added: "It hurts, and it's sad, and we'll miss her".

On August 27, Star, a shock jock at New York radio station Hot 97, mocked her death by playing a tape of a woman screaming while a crash was heard in the background. Rumors circulated that he was attacked by friends of Aaliyah, which he denied. Star was suspended and expressed remorse for his actions, admitting they were in "poor taste". He said: "I'm trying not to make fun of anything Aaliyah-related right now, because I'm aware people are trying to focus all their anger on me."

Aftermath

Following Aaliyah's death, there was an increase in sales of her self-titled third album, which had been released only a month before and had debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, selling over 187,000 copies in its first week. According to SoundScan, this was more than four times greater than the first-week's sales of her previous effort, 1996's One in A Million. The album was already gold when she flew to Abaco Island in the Bahamas. Prior to her death, lacking a second single and promotion, Aaliyah was selling slower than her second album. By 2009 the album was estimated to have sold three million copies. In the weeks following her death, the album went from number nineteen to number one on the Billboard 200, as retailers reported massive sales after her death. The following year in 2002, a compilation album titled I Care 4 U was released, featuring six new songs which sold 1.73 million copies.

At the time of her death, Aaliyah was working on several film appearances to be released back-to-back. One of these was a remake of the 1976 film Sparkle, produced by Whitney Houston. Houston would later say that Aaliyah was interested in being in the film to the point of being "enthusiastic". After she died, Houston shelved the project because her lead had "gone to a better place." The film was later completed in 2012 with Jordin Sparks replacing Aaliyah. She had filmed part of her role in The Matrix Reloaded and was scheduled to appear in its sequel The Matrix Revolutions. Nona Gaye was recast in the role.

In popular culture

Aaliyah's death has been referenced in popular culture numerous times. Jay-Z did a remix to her song "Miss You" where he spoke to her in the lyric, “What’s up baby girl? You know I had to talk to you again,” before listing the names of people in her life who missed her such as Timbaland, Missy Elliot, and her brother Rashad. He then addressed her relationship with Damon Dash and called her "our little angel". The music video for "Miss You" featured tributes by Aaliyah's friends and collaborators. The Jay-Z song "Glory" mentioned the crash, warning his daughter to exercise safety in the lyric, "Just make sure the plane you’re on is bigger than your carry-on baggage". Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, a biopic of Aaliyah's life, does not feature a re-creation of the crash, but does mention her death in text following the final scene where she parts ways with Damon Dash to leave for the Bahamas. The rapper J. Cole has a line in verse 3 of the song "No Role Modelz" which is: "My only regret could never take Aaliyah home." Kendrick Lamar has also mentioned her in the song "Blow my High", in which he sings "R.I.P Aaliyah, R.I.P", the song ends with a sample from Aaliyah's song "4 page letter".