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On August 31st, the white funeral carriage pulled by a team of four white horses, carried the body of soul sensation Aaliyah to St. Ignatius Church on Park Avenue, as an estimated one thousand fans paid their last respects. The singer, who was killed in a plane crash on August 25th was 22 years old. A public memorial service was held at Cipriani's Restaurant and many fans left cards, flowers and other remembrances of their idol.
Meanwhile, investigations into the cause of the plane crash have turned up evidence that the pilot was not authorized to fly the aircraft and had recently been under convicted of possessing crack, trafficking stolen airplane parts, theft and driving with a suspended license in Miami. Reports also indicate that the plane was almost 1,500 pounds too heavy at take off and this contributed to the crash that took Aaliyah's life as well as those of the other passengers onboard.
The investigation into the accident is currently be handled by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Bahamian government. Parts from the plane, a Cessna 402B, have been taken to the United States for study. Initial reports from the Bahamas indicate that the plane's engines were functioning properly at the time of take-off. The plane crashed in a swampy area approximately 200 feet from the end of the runway. It is reported that the pilot warned passengers that they had too much luggage and other equipment, but they refused to remove any of it. The plane never gained altitude and plunged to earth shortly after becoming airborne.
The entertainment world was saddened Saturday when it was learned that rising music star Aaliyah and seven associates had been killed in the crash of their chartered plane in the Bahamas. According to reports, the group was returning from filming a music video in the Bahamas when their chartered Cessna 402 went down in good weather shortly after take off from Marsh Harbour Airport on the island of Abaco. Their flight was bound for Opa-locka, Florida, according to its flight plan. According to police sources in the Bahamas, one of the aircraft's engines failed on takeoff and the plane was unable to stay airborne. It crashed approximately 200 feet from the end of the Marsh Harbour runway.
Aaliyah's party included Virgin Records representative Douglas Kratz, her bodyguard Scott Gallin, makeup artist Eric Foreman, Keith Wallace, Gina Smith, Anthony Dodd and Christopher Maldonado. The plane's pilot, identified only as L. Maradel, also died in the crash. The aircraft, which had not been manufactured for the past 10 - 15 years, was chartered from Skystream, a Florida company but has a solid reputation with no history of problems according to a spokesman from Cessna Aircraft in Wichita, Kansas.
Aaliyah, born Aaliyah Dana Haughton, was a native of Brooklyn, but grew up in the Detroit area. She was an honor graduate of the Detroit Performing Arts High School. The Rhythm and Blues sensation got her start in the music business through her uncle, Barry Hankerson, who was married to soul legend Gladys Knight. She made her stage debut in Las Vegas at the age of 11 when Knight invited her to perform with her on stage. She signed her first record contract with her uncle's company, Blackground Records and her premier album, Age Ain't Nothing But Number was an instant success. This album was produced by R & B superstar R. Kelly, to whom documents indicate she later married. The marriage was annulled when it was discovered that she did not have parental consent and the pair refused to talk about it to the press in later years.
She was also making a name for herself as a model, and had been featured on the cover of Seventeen magazine. She was featured in Vibe Magazine in 1994, and on MTV on numerous occasions.
In recent years, she was nominated for two Grammy Awards as Best Female R & B Artist, and her song Journey To The Past from the film Anastasia, received an Oscar nomination. She performed that song during the 1998 Academy Awards ceremony. She also worked on the soundtrack for the film Dr. Doolittle.
The singer crossed over from music to acting with her film debut in Romeo Must Die with Jet Li, and had recently signed contracts to appear in two sequels to the film The Matrix. She also had won the starring role in the film adaptation of Anne Rice's novel Queen of the Damned. The soundtrack to Romeo Must Die was listed as Number One by Billboard for several weeks.
Aaliyah's stage career began at the age of six in a production of Annie. Speaking of her first role, Aaliyah said, "I was an orphan, I had one little line. But what I loved about it was just putting the production together, being in the chorus, learning the routines, singing, and doing a little bit of acting. That's when I said, I've got to do this forever."
Aaliyah is survived by her parents and one brother. She was a close friend of composer Quincy Jones, who said, "She was like one of my daughters, she was one of the sweetest girls in the world. She vacationed with me and my family together in Fiji. I loved her and respected her and I am absolutely devastated" |
