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| Aaliyah's family 'devastated' August 26, 2001 Posted: 5:13 PM EDT (2113 GMT) Aaliyah had secured a role in the sequel to "The Matrix" with Keanu ABACO, Bahamas (CNN) -- The family of American R&B singer and actress Aaliyah said Sunday it was "devastated" by her death in a plane crash late Saturday night. The family's statement said it was "devastated at the loss of their loving daughter and sister. Their hearts go out to those families who lost their loved ones in this tragic accident." Aaliyah was among nine people killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas. The Cessna passenger plane crashed and burst into flames shortly after taking off from the island of Abaco bound for Miami on Saturday night, police said. Grand Bahamas Police Superintendent Basil Rahming said all nine aboard, including the pilot, were U.S. citizens. Anthony Dodd, 34, died at 3:30 a.m. Sunday shortly before he was scheduled to be airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Rahming said. Aaliyah who was set to appear in the forthcoming sequel to "The Matrix," was on the island to film a new video. Police said the plane was leaving Marsh Harbour airport around 6:50 p.m. when it crashed and was engulfed by flames. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the Cessna 402 was registered to Sky Stream of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and had been destined for Opa Locka, Florida. "Everyone's in total shock," Rahming said. "You know, Abaco is a small island and we've never heard of anything ... like this before." Gloria Knowles, who works for Abaco Air Ltd. at Marsh Harbour airport, said baggage handlers reported the plane was overloaded with suitcases. She said the handlers and the plane's pilot complained about the heavy load but the passengers insisted on taking everything with them. Quincy Jones, 68, the Grammy-winning producer, arranger and composer, said he was devastated by Aaliyah's death. He said: "She was like one of my daughters, she was one of the sweetest girls in the world. The Cessna plane crashed on takeoff. "She vacationed with me and my family together in Fiji. I loved her and respected her and I am absolutely devastated." The Bahamas' Minister of Tourism Tommy Turnquest told The Associated Press: "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." "She appeared to be headed for superstardom," said Johnny Walker, a senior vice president with Island/Def Jam Records. Although Aaliyah worked for another label -- Virgin Records -- Walker had praise for the singer. The Cessna plane crashed on takeoff. "Aaliyah clearly was an artist that had gifts .... She had the gift to produce, she had the gift to meet the public's undying demand for the craft that she had," Walker said. Frank Ski, the host of V103, an R&B radio station in Atlanta, praised Aaliyah's "clean-cut image, her moral values" and said it was genuine. "It's somebody that the R&B community can look up to .... It's not somebody who's been fabricated by producers or made up by image artists," he told CNN. The victims, according to Rahming, were: -- L. Marael, pilot (age unknown) -- Aeliyatt (Aaliyah) Haughton, 22, White Plains, New York -- Anthony Dodd, 34, Los Angeles, California -- Eric Foreman, 29, Hollywood, California -- Scott Gallin, 41, Pompano Beach, Florida -- Keith Wallace, 49, Los Angeles, California -- Gina Smith, 29, New Jersey -- Douglas Kratz, 28, Hollywood, California (Virgin Records representative) -- Christopher Maldonada, 32, New York |
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