Aaliyah’s Pilot Was on Probation for Cocaine When the Plane Crashed

In 2001, Aaliyah tragically died in a plane crash. Those who knew her during her lifetime said that she had major concerns about the plane. An investigation after the crash found that the plane was far heavier than it should have been. The pilot also was not authorized to fly the plane. 

Aaliyah reportedly had concerns about the plane that ultimately crashed

In August 2001, Aaliyah traveled to the Bahamas to film a music video for the song “Rock the Boat.” After she finished filming, she opted to leave a day early. Though she wanted to get home, she had concerns about the twin-engine Cessna 402B.

“She texted me saying, ‘I don’t like the plane.’ I told her, ‘Don’t get on it,’” her then-boyfriend, Dame Dash, told Us Weekly. “However, she said she had to do it for the video. She knew the plane wasn’t right, and she was always scared of planes.”

Dash said that Aaliyah had a general fear of flying.

“Every single time, she was scared,” he said. “She always took a satin pillow with her. She called it her good-luck pillow.”

He believes that he got on the plane despite her fears because she wanted to get home as soon as possible.

“She said, ‘I am just going to do this video then come right back,’” he said.

Aaliyah’s plane crashed shortly after it took off

Less than one minute after the plane took off, it crashed and burst into flames, killing everyone on board. Aaliyah, pilot Luis Antonio Morales, family friend Keith Wallace, bodyguard Scott Gallin, hairstylists Anthony Dodd and Eric Forman, makeup artist Christopher Maldonado, Blackground Records executive Gina Smith, and Virgin Records video production director Douglas Kratz all died as a result of the crash. 

A subsequent investigation found that the plane was roughly 900 pounds overweight. This threw off its center of gravity. In addition, Morales was not authorized to fly the plane. The National Transportation Safety Board found that he falsified his flight history to obtain his license. He also had been charged with felony possession of crack cocaine. 

“Luis was responsible for nine lives – eight plus his own,” his father said, per The Guardian. “Someone is going to have to respond for those eight lives. And someone is going to have to respond for his life to me.”