ŚMIERĆ AALIYAH

Tragedia miała miejsce na lotnisku leżącym na karaibskiej wyspę Abaco. Aaliyah wracała z planu teledysku "Rock The Boat'', kręconego na Wyspach Bahama. Tuż po starcie samolot marki Cessna, na którego pokładzie znajdowało się dziewięć osób eksplodował i runął w dół. Ośmiu pasażerów zginęło na miejscu, jedyny ocalały został przywieziony do szpitala w miejscowości Nassau, po czym również zmarł....

Oprócz Aaliyah zginęło jeszcze 8 osób:

Gina Smith (29) menadżer Aaliyah z Blackground Records

Douglas Kratz (28) reżyser produkcji wideoklipów z Virgin Records

Keith Wallace (49)

Eric Forman (29) osobisty fryzjer Aaliyah

Anthony Dodd (34) fryzjer

Scott Gallin (41) ochroniarz Aaliyah

Christopher Maldonado (32) makijażysta

pilot samoltu: Lous Maradel

Wiadomość agencyjna o śmierci Liyah brzmiała:

Na lotnisku Marsh Horbour na bermudzkiej wyspie Abako rozbił się dwusilnikowy samolot Cessna 402B zadając śmierć 8 pasażerom i pilotowi. Samolot wystartował w sobotę 25 sierpnia 2001 roku o godzinie 6.50 i kierował się na lotnisko Opa-locka na północno - zachodnim krańcu Miami na Florydzie. Śmierć ponieśli - Aaliyah, Gina Smith, Eric Forman, Keith Wallace, Douglas Krantz, Anthony Dodd, Scott Gallin, Christopher Maldonado i pilot L. Mareal. Świadkowie twierdzą, że samolot był przeładowany zbyt ciężkimi bagażami i uniósł się na wysokość 200 stóp, zapalił i runął przy końcu pasa startowego. Pasażerami samolotu była ekipa kręcąca najnowszy videoclip Aaliyah "Rock The Boat" mający promować kolejnego singla z trzeciego albumu artystki.

BBC NEWS

Sunday, 26 August, 2001, 16:37 GMT 17:37 UK
R&B's
Aaliyah dies in plane crash

Grammy-nominated R&B singer Aaliyah was among nine people killed when their plane crashed and burst into flames shortly after taking off in the Bahamas on Saturday night. Bahamas police said six of those on board, including Aaliyah, had died instantly, while three others died shortly afterwards due their injuries. The 22-year-old singer, whose full name was Aaliyah Haughton, was returning to the US after filming a music video in the Abaco islands, about 270km (170 miles) from Florida. Aaliyah's song Try Again earned her a Grammy nomination for best female R&B vocalist, and last year she made her film acting debut in Romeo Must Die. Born in 1979 in New York, Aaliyah was raised in Detroit.  She began performing at age 11 when she sang with Gladys Knight, and her first album Age Ain't Nothing But A Number came out when she was 15 - and sold millions. Grammy-winning producer and composer Quincy Jones, who knew Aaliyah well, said he was devastated by the news of the death. "She was like one of my daughters, she was one of the sweetest girls in the world, " he told the Associated Press news agency. Aaliyah's acting debut in Romeo Must Die also starred Chinese martial arts actor Jet Li. She had signed to appear in a sequel to The Matrix. The BBC's Radio 1 R&B expert Derren Lawford said Aaliyah was about to become a huge star worldwide. "She always stood out, had a great voice and definitely had a big future in music and films," he said. Superintendent Basil Rahming of Grand Bahama police department told Reuters news agency that the twin-engined propeller plane apparently suffered engine failure on take-off. It crashed into bushes off the end of the runway at Marsh Habour on Abaco Island, about 160km (96 miles) north of Nassau. The plane, which was bound for Opa-locka airport in Miami, was owned by a Florida-based company Skystream, said Kathleen Bergen, spokeswoman for the US Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta. Police have named the other victims as: Scott Gallin, 41; Keith Wallace, 49, of Los Angeles; Douglas Kratz, 28, a representative of Virgin records, and make-up artist Eric Foreman, 29, both from Hollywood; Gina Smith,29, of New Jersey; and Christopher Maldonado,32, of New York. The plane's pilot, identified as L Marael, was also killed. One passenger who surivived the crash, but died later in hospital was named as 34-year-old Anthony Dodd, 34, of Los Angeles.

Ostatnie zdjęcia Aaliyah: