One of the most tragic days in R&B history was Saturday, August 25, 2001, when singer/actress Aaliyah Dana Haughton was killed in a plane crash. There is still some debate on what had happened on that day.
She was one of nine people aboard a twin-engine plane that crashed seconds after taking off from Marsh Harbour International Airport on Abaco Island in the Bahamas, according to Grand Bahama police superintendent Basil Rahming. All nine died.
She died instantly when the plane, a Cessna 402B, exploded on impact just 200 feet beyond the end of a runway at Marsh Harbour International Airport on Abaco Island at 6:45 p.m. The craft, which was bound for Opa-Locka Airport, just northwest of Miami, apparently suffered engine failure upon liftoff. Others killed in the accident included Aaliyah makeup artist Eric Foreman, 29, and Virgin Records representative Douglas Kratz, 28. Two other women and three other men, including the pilot, died in the crash; another male passenger died early Sunday morning in Nassau, where he was awaiting airlift to a Miami hospital.
They were in the Bahmas shooting the video Rock The Boat.
Investigators have moved the wreckage of the Cessna 402B to a hangar at Mount Harbour International Airport on Abaco Island. 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.
Morales, 30, was pulled over on August 7 when he drove his car through a stop sign in Pompano Beach, Florida, according to the Broward County Sheriff's records. The police officer searched the car, found pieces of crack cocaine and booked Morales on a felony cocaine-possession charge, as well as charges of driving with a suspended license and running a stop sign, records show. Morales told the arresting officer he was in the area to purchase powder cocaine for a friend, according to the arrest report.
On August 13, Morales entered a no-contest plea to the possession charge, as well as to a November charge of possessing stolen property, records show. He was given three years' probation, and the judge did not enter a decision on the condition that Morales successfully complete the probation, which included mandatory drug tests, according to the Broward County clerk of courts.
Morales' no-contest plea meant that his pilot's license should have been revoked under Federal Aviation Administration rules.
While Morales' license hadn't been revoked yet, he was not authorized to fly the plane, which was operated by Blackhawk International Airways even though Morales had a clean flying record with no enforcement actions against him.
Blackhawk is cleared to fly charter planes under a "single pilot certificate," meaning that only one pilot was authorized to fly the plane that crashed. Such certificates are common for small air taxi services like Blackhawk, which only has two planes.
The pilot's name was not released, but it was not Morales. Morales' license qualified him to fly Cessna 402B planes, but he was not on Blackhawk's certificate. It was not be appropriate for the FAA to release the name of the authorized pilot.
While Blackhawk International is on record as the plane's operator, a company named Skystream is listed as the plane's owner. Both companies list the same Pembroke Pines, Florida, address as their headquarters. Calls to Blackhawk were not returned, and no phone number was available for Skystream.
Blackhawk International Airways, the plane's operator, was cited by the FAA four times between 1997 and 2000 for a total of nine violations that included failure to follow drug-testing rules and failure to perform proper maintenance, according to FAA documents. Three of the citations resulted in "letters of correction" from the agency, while one - a 1998 citation for failing to comply with a foreign country's regulations while flying in that country - drew a $1,500 fine, according to documents.
Though the FBI declined to comment, as is their policy with all pending investigations, a 26-page affidavit filed in support of a search warrant charges that Gilbert Chacon, owner of Blackhawk Aviation, has been withholding airport and engine logs and records for the Cessna twin-engine plane involved in the accident. Chacon is also suspected of lying to federal investigators, concealing information, falsifying documents and obstructing and impeding due process.
Up to this point, Chacon had provided some information to investigators via his attorney, Michael Moulis, but had not produced the aircraft and engine logbooks as well as many requested documents, saying that they were not in his possession because he had leased the Cessna to Morales, which absolved him of responsibility for the aircraft.
Investigators now believe Chacon lied about the lease, the transfer of records and logs to Morales prior to the crash, and efforts to locate those records after the crash.
Morales' father, according to the affidavit, insists that the plane was never leased to his son and that Chacon has never inquired about any documents.
The pilot's belongings were searched during the process of retrieving his personal effects, and no aircraft logs were recovered. Morales' father also claims that his son had no means to lease a $250,000 aircraft and that he was paid cash on a per flight basis.
The pilot in the plane crash that killed Aaliyah in August had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his body, the Bahamas Department of Civil Aviation announced Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
An autopsy of Luis Morales III, who died in the accident with the singer and seven members of her entourage showed cocaine in his urine and alcohol in his stomach. The department is still investigating how the substances might have affected the 30-year-old pilot.
U.S. agents seized Chacon's business records from his Fort Lauderdale, Florida-area residence on Monday, but mostly found training forms and bank statements, according to news reports from Miami television station WSVN.
The affidavit contends that Chacon is concealing his responsibility for the plane, since Blackhawk Aviation did not have permission from the Bahamas to conduct commercial flights there, according to the Civil Aviation Department of the Bahamas. To fly without permission would be in violation of FAA policy.
Since the crash, Chacon - who in 1993 pleaded guilty to bankruptcy fraud involving another charter service, Caribbean Express - has given up his operating certificate.
Chacon has claimed in the past that he was not responsible for the employ of his pilot, since he had been fooled by Morales about the extent of his experience, which Chacon characterized as inflated.
Moulis even filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration in a letter filed September 10 that accused the late pilot of falsely logging hours: "It is alleged that Mr. Morales inappropriately logged hundreds of hours as pilot in command when it is questionable whether he was even a pilot of the flight," the letter read.
In the report released recently, aviation officials also noted the Cessna 402B aircraft Morales was flying may not have undergone fuel-pump wiring modifications required three years prior to the accident. Particles and corrosion in the fuel filters also suggested routine maintenance had not been performed.
The department is still working to track down the owner of the plane and inspect the aircraft log, which should provide maintenance records.
Although the exact cause of the crash is still uncertain, The report does rule out a few possibilities. The authorities said the plane's engine, airframe, propeller and fuel tank showed no malfunction.
The tiny Cessna aircraft was overloaded, a report from investigators in the Bahamas shows. In a statement issued, it was said the Cessna 402B was loaded with fuel and cargo to a weight of 5,495 pounds. Since the craft's maximum authorized takeoff weight is 6,300 pounds, that left only 805 pounds available for the passengers and pilot - just under 90 pounds per person.
Overloading alone may not be enough to cause a crash, witnesses said it veered sharply to the left soon after takeoff - suggests the load was not balanced evenly, which would have made the craft more difficult to handle. The report said the location of the bags on the aircraft before the crash has not been determined. The report also said the plane's center of gravity was too far toward the tail and "significantly outside the flight envelope."
The report also said both of the plane's engines were in good working order and that the craft showed no evidence of "pre-crash damage." the information on the plane's maintenance records and pilot is still being gathered and that the craft's propellers were to be examined in the U.S.
In May, Aaliyah's parents filed a lawsuit against the owners of plane, Virgin Records and several other companies, alleging negligence and recklessness caused the crash.


A continuous loop of Aaliyah's videos were played during a public memorial service for the singer on Friday on August 31, 2001 in New York.
The service ran from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Cipriani's 42nd Street, located at 110 E. 42nd St. Fans were invited to come and pay tribute to the singer. Separate funeral service arrangements were being kept private at the request of the family.

At her family's request, the Aaliyah Memorial Fund has been established, with donations going to breast cancer research and patient support. Half of the funds will benefit the Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program, a Virgin Records spokesperson said. The other half will go to the beneficiaries of the October 27 Breathe concert, which will raise money to help underprivileged women suffering from breast cancer. Aaliyah was scheduled to perform at the all-star event

Video director Hype Williams said the time he spent working with Aaliyah during her last days was among the most memorable of his life, and he wants the world to see the footage they shot for "Rock the Boat."
"Those four days were very beautiful for everyone. We all worked together as a family," Williams said Monday, adding that the camaraderie on the set was a refreshing change from the usual shoot. "The last day, Saturday, was one of the best I've had in this business. Everyone felt part of something special, part of her song."
They began shooting the video Wednesday, flew down to the Bahamas Thursday and shot all day Thursday and Friday, he said. Williams wants people to see what they created.

"It's a very special project. Everyone put their heart and soul into the work, as we always do, with the intent that the world would enjoy it," he said, speaking slowly and softly. "I know there's a lot of pain involved, but that's all the more reason people would appreciate what we've done as a group."
The video was released Tuesday, October 9, 2001 on BET at 8pm ET.
Aaliyah shot another video, for "More Than a Woman," earlier in August in Los Angeles with director David Meyers. Later it was released.


This summer, Aaliyah will continue to live on through her music with a still-untitled album, according to her label, Blackground. A spokesperson for the project says no exact date has been set and that it was too early to tell what material it would include.

For complete coverage of the Aaliyah tragedy, check out "The Aaliyah Reports."
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Aaliyah was one of the first of young teens to get into the music business before Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and others. She was a sweet warm person with a good heart. She even has a signature sound, so original that just by the beat, you know it's her. She was an Angel on Earth and truely One In A Million.