Aaliyah Plane Crash Investigation: No End In Sight

Authorities in the Bahamas are looking into reports that engine failure and overloading contributed to the crash of the plane carrying Aaliyah and eight others Saturday, but they haven't ruled anything out and say there's no end to the investigation in sight.

Investigators have moved the wreckage of the Cessna 402B to a hangar at Mount Harbour International Airport on Abaco Island, according to Royal Bahamas Police Force Officer Leeland Russell. He added that the investigation — a joint effort between the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the islands' Civil Aviation Department, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board — is in its early stages.

Russell said investigators are interviewing "every possible witness" in addition to looking at the aircraft, and that they have discovered "nothing significant" that might indicate the cause of the crash (see "Aaliyah Killed in Plane Crash").

Details on funeral arrangements or memorial services for Aaliyah have not been released (see "Timbaland, P. Diddy, Other Artists React To Aaliyah's Death" and "Hard-Working Aaliyah Packed Hit Albums, Movies Into Short Life").

Hard-Working Aaliyah Packed Hit Albums, Movies Into Short Life

Aaliyah Dana Haughton died doing what she spent most of her life doing — working.

The 22-year-old singer and actress was killed in a plane crash Saturday in the Bahamas. She was returning to the United States after shooting a video with director Hype Williams for "Rock the Boat." The sensual, Caribbean-flavored track in which Aaliyah gives love-making instructions to her boyfriend was already in heavy radio rotation and appeared to be the home-run single off her third album, Aaliyah, released a month earlier.

With that album already certified gold, the singer, who was still in school when she recorded her first two albums, was enjoying yet another success as she awaited the release of the movie "Queen of the Damned" and anticipated work on two sequels to "The Matrix."

Aaliyah's appeal transcended her capacity to hit high notes effortlessly or to cry on cue. It reflected a style sense (she was a Tommy Hilfiger spokesperson in 1997) that made her look as beautiful in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt as in an Armani frock.

Her charisma also lay in her willingness to show love to other artists, as she did for Lil' Kim during last summer's Notorious K.I.M. release party, when she danced the night away with her friend Jay-Z. And she seemed to genuinely appreciate and reciprocate the love her fans bestowed upon her. (Click for photos of Aaliyah through the years)

"There are times when I sit back and look at my career as a whole and realize I am truly blessed to be doing something I love," she said during a taping of MTV's "Diary" in July. "Sometimes I'm taken aback. I'm very happy. There's so much more I want to do in my career, it's beyond words."

Age Ain't Nothing but a Number introduced the New York-born, Detroit-raised 15-year-old to the world in 1994, setting the stage for fellow teen platinum princesses Britney Spears, Brandy and Monica. R. Kelly wrote and produced most of the album; it didn't hurt that he was managed at the time by Aaliyah's uncle (and label CEO), Barry Hankerson.

The album's first single, the midtempo "Back and Forth," was propelled by Kelly's G-funk synthesizer beat and the teen's stratospheric voice. The track shot to the top of the R&B charts and to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.

Although her gentle vocals were catchy enough to make her a pop star, the baggy pants covering her slender figure, shades and bandanas gave her ample street cred. Aaliyah was hip-hop, too.

The late Notorious B.I.G. recognized this when he picked her to sing alongside Lil' Kim and the rest of Junior M.A.F.I.A. on the 1995 hit "I Need You Tonight." She would eventually be featured on tracks with MCs including DMX, Kris Kross and Da Brat, Nas and Naughty by Nature's Treach.

"She was like a little sister to the industry, everybody loved her," said Treach, who worked with Aaliyah on "Girl Like You" from her second album, One in a Million (1996). "From when we met her till now, she was never on no superstar sh--. If she met you, it was like she knew you all her life, never no phoniness."

"Aaliyah was a real beautiful sister," RZA said Monday. "She's my favorite artist. She always came with a phat single."

Rap Renaissance woman Missy Elliott also wrote songs for Aaliyah's second album, and producer Timbaland's harder space-age sonic booms helped the record go multiplatinum. The title track, "If Your Girl Only Knew" and "Hot Like Fire" found Aaliyah evolving artistically. More mature and less shy, she was still able to convey an amiable innocence when she sang, in "4 Page Letter," about working up the courage to let a guy know she was interested. The three Million collaborators, along with Magoo and Ginuwine, began to refer to themselves as the "Superfriends."

Rather than return immediately into the studio for a follow-up, Aaliyah opted for a rest. This was cut short when she landed a role in the movie "Romeo Must Die" alongside Jet Li and DMX. "Romeo" was a box office smash, and displayed a new side of Aaliyah, as she lit up the screen with sass and sexiness as Trish O'Day. Her Timbaland-produced hit "Try Again" propelled "Romeo" 's 2000 soundtrack album to double-platinum certification. The motivational number is nominated for R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year at the seventh annual Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, to be taped in Santa Monica, California, on Tuesday night.

On July 17, she released Aaliyah, her first album in more than five years, and it debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It has sold more than 447,000 copies to date.

Aaliyah recorded the album while filming the sensual title role in the film adaptation of the Anne Rice novel "Queen of the Damned," which is due in early 2002 (see "Aaliyah Finishes New Album During Break From Movies"). She was also cast in the two "Matrix" sequels and had filmed a few scenes earlier this year, according to a spokesperson for Warner Bros. Pictures. She was scheduled to join the rest of the cast, which is filming both sequels concurrently, in Australia later this fall. It's too early to tell whether Aaliyah's scenes will end up in either of the sequels' final cuts, the spokesperson said.

"I would come home from the set and say to my wife, 'This girl is a freak — she never loses her temper, she never gets impatient, she's a dream to direct,' " said "Queen of the Damned" director Michael Rymer. "You give her a note and she's like a machine, she executes it. She put up with hours of makeup and teeth and contact lenses and skimpy costumes in the freezing cold all night. She was a very pure spirit. It's easy to say now, and we said it then, at the end of the day, that girl is an ... angel.

"I'm a writer and I couldn't contrive a more tragic scenario," Rymer said of Aaliyah's demise. "The only real consolation is that she died doing what she loved to do. She was not a frustrated person whose goals had eluded her. She was doing what she loved and had nothing to regret."

Timbaland, P. Diddy, Other Artists React To Aaliyah's Death

The music community reacted Monday to the loss of one of its brightest young stars, praising the late Aaliyah for her creativity, warmth and kindness.

"She was like blood, and I lost blood," producer Timbaland, whose collaborations with Aaliyah included the hits "Are You That Somebody?" and "We Need a Resolution," said in a phone call to "TRL." "Me and her together had this chemistry. I kinda lost half of my creativity to her. It's hard for me to talk to the fans right now. Beyond the music, she was a brilliant person, the [most special] person I ever met." (Click for photos of Aaliyah and friends.)

Aaliyah, 22, was killed when the small plane she and eight others were traveling in crashed soon after takeoff in the Bahamas on Saturday (see "Aaliyah Killed In Plane Crash"). The singer was on Abaco Island filming a video for "Rock the Boat," her label said, adding that it's too early to tell whether or not the video will ever air.

A visibly shaken P. Diddy, hosting "TRL" Monday, talked about his friendship with Aaliyah and mourned the death of an artist whose best work was yet to come. "She was one of those individuals that would light up a room," he said. "She always greeted you with a smile. Her time was coming; [she] was just about to explode."

He said Aaliyah's family was the closest he'd ever seen. Aaliyah is survived by her parents, Diane and Michael Haughton, and a brother, Rashad.

Other artists remembered the singer and actress as much for her personality as for her work.

DMX, who co-starred with Aaliyah in "Romeo Must Die" and dueted with her on "Come Back in One Piece" for the film's soundtrack album, characterized her as "talented, classy, warm, beautiful, compassionate [and] humble" in a statement issued Monday afternoon. Aaliyah was a "down-to-earth sister with enough energy to put anyone on a cloud," he said. "Let us pray."

"Words can't express what I'm feeling, she was family," Ginuwine said in a statement. "I will truly miss her."

"There are no words to express the loss of Aaliyah, whose unique talent was just beginning to blossom," Ernie Isley said in a statement. "The world will never get to see how her gift could have developed, and that is truly a loss." Aaliyah reworked the Isley Brothers' "Choosey Lover" for her 1996 album, One in a Million.

Michael Rymer, who directed Aaliyah in the title role of the upcoming "Queen of the Damned," remembered the star as a perfectionist and an exceptional young actress. "Aaliyah, who doesn't have an evil atom in her body, came off as this intensely sexual, sensuous, delightfully evil, naughty performer," he said. "It was a very tough role to pull off. ... I think she delivers.

"Of all the people I know, [she] had such a clear and pure spirit, such a clear idea of what she wanted. It's hard to imagine that being interrupted," added Rymer. Rymer said Aaliyah had planned to collaborate with Timbaland and Korn's Jonathan Davis for the film's soundtrack, but he wasn't sure if those plans came to fruition.

A Jive Records statement noted that R. Kelly, who produced Aaliyah's 1994 debut, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, was "deeply saddened by the tragic loss. His thoughts and prayers are with her family during their time of grief."

Aaliyah's "Romeo Must Die" co-star Jet Li issued a statement extending his condolences to Aaliyah's family and the family of Eric Foreman, a makeup artist who also died in the crash.

"I heard of the devastating news and am deeply saddened that she is no longer with us," Li said. "She was a wonderful and talented artist who will be missed by everyone whose lives she touched."

One music-industry veteran who worked with Aaliyah early on was struck by her motivation as a 12-year-old with a burning desire to break into the business. "It was clear she had all the gifts," said Hank Neuberger, executive vice president of Chicago Recording Company, where Aaliyah recorded much of Age Ain't Nothing. "She had a great voice, she was stunningly beautiful and she had a strong sense of what she could do at a very young age."

"Her depth and versatility as an artist was matched by the passion and devotion she had for her craft," Virgin Records said in a statement issued Sunday (see "Aaliyah Mourned As Artist Who Had 'Limitless Potential'").

Fans responded to the tragedy with candlelight vigils and spontaneous memorials. In Detroit, a candlelight vigil was set for Monday evening outside the Detroit High School for Fine and Performing Arts, according to a school official. Aaliyah graduated from the school with a 4.0 GPA in 1997.

"We are devastated," said Stan Childress, Detroit Public Schools communications director and former student activities advisor at the high school.

"This tragedy has young people crying, hugging each other, expressing love for each other, saying things like, 'This has taught us how to value life, because you don't know what's going to happen,' " said Childress, who noted that Aaliyah had often given her time and advice to fellow students aspiring to enter the entertainment business. "She's an angel for this city."

Outside Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, fans wrote messages on an Aaliyah billboard and left candles and flowers, according to clerk Jonathan Stapleton. He added that the store has seen a huge increase in demand for her albums over the past few days.

In New York, a spray-paint artist was busy Monday creating a mural of the singer in Manhattan's Lower East Side, according to the Associated Press.

An investigation into the plane crash was ongoing Monday, and authorities in the Bahamas said initial indications pointed to engine failure as the accident's cause. Among the eight others killed in the crash were Foreman, 29, bodyguard Scott Gallin, 41, and Virgin Records' director of video production, Douglas Kratz, 28.

Aaliyah Mourned As Artist Who Had 'Limitless Potential'

Aaliyah's friends, family and associates said Sunday (August 26) that they were devastated by the sudden loss of the 22-year-old singer and actress, who died in a plane crash Saturday night.

Her family — which includes her parents, Diane and Michael Haughton, and a brother, Rashad — expressed their grief in a brief statement issued through Blackground Records.

"Aaliyah's family is devastated at the loss of their loving daughter and sister," the statement said. "Their hearts go out to those families who also lost their loved ones in this tragic accident."

Aaliyah was one of nine people aboard a twin-engine plane that crashed seconds after taking off from the Bahamas, where she had been shooting a video (see "Aaliyah Killed In Plane Crash"). All nine died.

Others killed in the accident included Aaliyah makeup artist Eric Foreman, 29, and Virgin Records director of video production Douglas Kratz, 28.

Blackground Records, which co-released Aaliyah's albums with Virgin Records, called the singer/actress its "queen."

"The example she showed young people will be sorely missed and we hope her short time on earth will be an inspiration to young people all over the world," the label, owned by Aaliyah's uncle, Barry Hankerson, said. The label's statement also mourned two other victims of the crash, Gina Smith and Keith Wallace, who it said were members of the Blackground family.

Virgin Records, meanwhile, called Aaliyah "one of the world's brightest and most talented stars, [who] will be mourned by all who loved her and loved her music."

"Her depth and versatility as an artist was matched by the passion and devotion she had for her craft," Virgin added in a statement.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Warner Bros. Pictures' president of worldwide production, who met Aaliyah when she made her acting debut in last year's "Romeo Must Die," said her passing was "a huge loss."

"Aaliyah was one of the finest young women I have ever worked with. She was a consummate professional, an amazing talent with limitless potential and, most importantly, an exceptional person," di Bonaventura said in a statement. "Her passing is a huge loss to her many friends here at Warner Bros. and we extend our heartfelt sympathy to her family and to those who loved her as we did."

Aaliyah 7th Anniversary

Aaliyah's Parents Sue Virgin

The parents of the late R&B singer Aaliyah, Diane and Michael Houghton, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court Monday against Virgin Records, their daughter's record label. The couple alleges that the record company, by hiring the wrong size plane and an inexperienced pilot to fly gear and crew to a video shoot in the Bahamas, was negligent in their daughter's death.

Aaliyah, who was twenty-two, died August 25th along with eight others when their twin-engine, ten-seat Cessna crashed shortly after taking off from a Bahamian airfield. Also named in the suit, which seeks unspecified damages, are Blackhawk International Airways -- the charter operator -- and two video production companies.

Families of two other passengers aboard the flight filed similar lawsuits in Los Angeles Monday; and in February, the families of two hairdressers also killed in the crash filed claims against Virgin, claiming the label had put "profits over safety."

Monday's filings come only two days after news broke that the Bahamian government is wrapping up its investigation of the crash. According to reports, Island officials will blame pilot error, inexperience and excess weight aboard the plane as the three primary causes of the crash.

In Brief: Aaliyah, U2

Late R&B singer Aaliyah received four BET Award nominations to lead all acts, while Alicia Keys received three nods. The awards show is set for June 25th in Hollywood, California . . . U2 unveiled a new song, "Hands That Built America," at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on May 13th. The song will appear on the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese's upcoming film, Gangs of New York . . . Bob Weir will join Phil Lesh and Friends in a mini-Grateful Dead reunion on the Bonnaroo Festival, which runs June 21-23 in Manchester, Tennessee. Trey Anastasio, Norah Jones, Widespread Panic, Ben Harper, Gov't Mule, Ween and others will also perform . . . Bree Sharp will release her second album, More B.S., on July 23rd . . . Queensryche frontman Geoff Tate will release his self-titled solo debut on June 25th . . .

Randy Newman, Rosanne Cash, Chocolate Genius, Angelique Kidjo and Jane Siberry are among the artists lined up as part of New York City's Downtown NYC River-to-River Festival, a free concert series that launches on May 30th with a performance by Sheryl Crow . . . Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock will take his side project Ugly Casanova out on a twenty-two-date tour starting June 15th in Seattle . . . Linda Ronstadt has lined up a sixteen-date tour that begins on June 26th in New York . . . Melissa Etheridge and Meredith Brooks will begin a thirty-nine-date tour on June 7th in Clearwater, Florida . . .

Nickelback received twelve nominations for the thirteenth annual MuchMusic Video Awards, which will be held on June 16th in Toronto . . . Vic Chesnutt has signed with New West Records and will release a new album for the label in early 2003 . . . Korn have added eleven dates to their Tour With No Name, which launches June 20th in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Puddle of Mudd and Deadsy will open . . . Keb' Mo' will begin a forty-two date tour on June 5th in Denver . . . We Will Rock You, a new musical based on the music of Queen, had its premiere in London last night . . . The Rollins Band will release a new live album, The Only Way to Know for Sure, on June 25th; the album was recorded at a pair of Chicago shows this spring . . .

Robert Plant has added vocals to "The Lord Is My Shotgun," a track from Primal Scream's upcoming album, the follow up to 2000's Exterminator . . . Neil Finn has lined up an eleven date tour to begin July 2nd in San Diego; Finn will be supporting his new album, One All, due May 21st . . . Guided By Voices were forced to postpone a pair of dates this week after frontman Robert Pollard injured his back . . . Chuck Berry collaborator Johnnie Johnson was given an honorary doctorate in music at the commencement ceremony at Fairmont State College in West Virginia on May 11th . . . Billy Idol will begin a twenty-one date tour on July 20th in Las Vegas . . .

Ozzy Osbourne and Ricky Martin have joined the lineup for the concert for Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee Celebration in London on June 3rd . . . The Pretenders will open for the Rolling Stones on the first date of their fall tour, September 5th in Foxboro, Massachusetts . . . Juan Gabriel was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 10th in Los Angeles . . . Tool have lined up nine tour dates to begin July 11th in Bakersfield, California . . . Jimi Hendrix's family filed suit against PPX Enterprises demanding unpaid royalties and the master tapes for a series of early recordings Hendrix made with a group called Curtis Knight and the Squires . . . Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton's West Barnstable, Massachusetts, home was destroyed by a fire on May 11th. The home, which has been under construction, was empty at the time . . .

John Mayer will begin a summer tour on July 16th in Baltimore . . . American Hi-Fi will open for Elvis Costello over a six-gig stretch starting May 18th in Portland, Oregon . . . The Isley Brothers and Sister Sledge are among the acts lined up for the sixth annual St. Kitts International Music Festival, which is set for June 27-30 on the Caribbean island . . . Dionne Warwick was arrested on May 12th when security at Miami International Airport found eleven suspected marijuana cigarettes inside her lipstick container . . . B.B. King will headline the fifth annual Doheny Blues Festival, which runs May 18th and 19th in Dana Point, California. Los Lobos, Jonny Lang, Little Richard and Bo Diddley will also perform . . .