During the second part of the 90s, Aaliyah was a gigantic star who sold tens of millions of records worldwide and starred in blockbuster movies such as Romeo Must Die. On August 25th, 2001, Aaliyah died in a plane crash at the young age of 22. The tragic event sent shockwaves throughout the world as her legions of fans could believe that R&B had lost its “baby girl”.

Here’s a quick recap of what happened: After filming the music video Rock the Boat in the Bahamas, Aaliyah boarded a 10-seat twin-engine Cessna 402B private jet bound for Opa-Locka, Florida along with seven members of her crew. Less than a minute after takeoff, the jet fell from the sky and plummeted to the ground just 200 feet from the runway. Aaliyah was one of six passengers who died at the scene, while three others died a few hours later.

A few years after the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation that revealed several irregularities. First, the plane was severely overweight, to the point that the trip was nearly suicidal. Second, the pilot, Luis Morales III did not have the certifications to fly this aircraft. Furthermore, the pilot was previously charged with a drug offense in the US, and an autopsy found he had cocaine and alcohol in his system at the time of the crash.

But out of all the reports, it was one in particular that people latched onto which claimed the deceased pilot, Luis Morales, had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system as per his autopsy, received probation for crack cocaine possession less than two weeks prior to the flight and was not certified to fly the plane Aaliyah was on. Had Morales informed aviation officials of the case within 60 days as per FAA guidelines, his license would have most likely been revoked. The FAA license he did obtain, he received by showing flights he had never actually flown.

The plane itself had been cited four times in the four years before the fatal crash, including once for a safety violation. Other reports pointed to there being too many people as well as excess baggage on board, which fellow pilot Lewis Key would later confirm to be true. Key also told The New York Post that Morales had trouble getting one of the engines started. The tabloid further reported that Morales and Aaliyah’s crew got into a heated debate prior to takeoff over the excess weight, but ultimately went ahead with the flight anyway.
– Jenifer Gonsalves, Was Aaliyah killed by Illuminati to make way for Beyoncé?

These bizarre details regarding the plane crash lead some to ask: How could one of the world’s biggest stars be put through such a precarious situation?

There have been few explanations for why the plane was ever allowed off the ground in the first place. Arguments had broken out between Aaliyah’s entourage and the pilot over the plane being overweight. After the crash, it was quickly confirmed that the small twin-engine plane exceeded its maximum weight limit by several hundred pounds. Plus, the weight was not evenly distributed, which would have made the plane harder to control once it got into the air. The last significant update came in 2002, when a toxicology report found that the inexperienced pilot had cocaine and alcohol in his system.

(…) Why would Aaliyah, a known anxious flier, be so insistent on getting on this small plane when it was clearly overloaded with baggage, especially when there was a chartered plane set to pick her up the next day?
– Daily Beast, New Book’s Shock Claim: Aaliyah Was Drugged Before Her Fatal Plane Crash

A new book about Aaliyah adds to the suspicions regarding her death. According to the biography Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, the singer refused to board the plane. Then, she was given a sleeping pill and was carried into the plane while fast asleep.

Drugged?

The source of this shocking information is a man from the Abaco Islands named Kingsley Russell. Aged 13 at the time of the tragedy, Kingsley was Aaliyah’s team baggage carrier as he worked in his family’s taxi and hospitality business. His mother was Aaliyah’s driver during her time on the island and his aunt Annie Russel was handling the team’s transportation and scouting locations for filming. Annie Russell gave testimony at the coroner’s inquest into Aaliyah’s death in 2003, citing concerns of the team having too much video equipment to take on the plane.

Shortly after the bizarre death of Kobe Bryant, Kingsley Russell posted a (now deleted) video on YouTube where he explained how the helicopter crash was triggering because it reminded him of the day he watched Aaliyah being taken on board the fatal flight while she was asleep, knocked out by a pill that a member of her team had given her.

When contacted by the writer of the biography, Russell described the events leading to the fatal plane crash.

Feeling he was destined to talk to Iandoli, Russell began sharing a story that he had long been advised to keep to himself. (…)

Already experiencing a two-hour delay due to the plane’s late arrival, Russell claimed that Aaliyah grew even more flustered when she finally saw the small plane and refused to board it. At the same time, the pilot was insisting that the plane would be too heavy with eight passengers, including Aaliyah’s 300-pound bodyguard, and all of their luggage and video equipment.

“[The airport staff] and Aaliyah had the common sense that the plane was overweight,” Russell is quoted in the book.

Pushing back against her team, Aaliyah climbed into the taxi van, complaining of a headache, and said she was going to take a quick nap. Meanwhile, her camp continued to try and convince the pilot to fly them with all their luggage, according to Russell. Eventually, Russell said a member of Aaliyah’s team came to check on her, and the singer reiterated that she did not want to get on the tiny plane and that she had a headache.

It was then, Russell claimed, that the team member produced a pill, which Aaliyah took and fell into a deep sleep, which she remained in when the pilot finally agreed to fly the group back to Florida.

“They took her out of the van; she didn’t even know she was getting boarded on a plane,” Russell said in Baby Girl. “She went on the airplane asleep.”

When Aaliyah’s body was recovered nearly 20 feet away from the wreckage, she was still strapped into her seat, slumped to the left with her 5-foot-7-inch frame folded over, according to the book. An autopsy report concluded that her survival was “unthinkable,” citing her extensive burns and major head trauma.
– Ibid.

Was Aaliyah forcibly carried to the plane to become an industry sacrifice?

Dark Side of the Industry

R. Kelly (aged 26) and Aaliyah (aged 14) in 1993.

Aaliyah signed with Jive Records at the young age of 12. She was quickly introduced to R. Kelly who became her mentor and the lead producer and songwriter of her debut album: Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number.

The title of this album quickly took a creepy meaning when it was discovered that R. Kelly was much more than Aaliyah’s “mentor”.

With the release of Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, rumors circulated of a relationship between Aaliyah and R. Kelly, including the allegation that they had secretly married without her parents’ knowledge. Vibe later revealed a marriage certificate that listed the couple married on August 31, 1994, in Sheraton Gateway Suites in Rosemont, Illinois. Aaliyah, who was 15 at the time, was listed as 18 on the certificate; the illegal marriage was annulled in February 1995 by her parents. The pair continued to deny marriage allegations, stating that neither was married.

The 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly revealed new details about their relationship and marriage. Jovante Cunningham, a former backup dancer, claimed to have witnessed Kelly having sex with Aaliyah on his tour bus while Demetrius Smith again recounted the time Kelly feared that he had impregnated her. Smith also described how he helped Aaliyah forge the necessary documents to show she was 18 and that the wedding was short and unceremonious, as neither was dressed up and Aaliyah looked “worried and scared” the whole time. Smith states that he is “not proud” of his role in facilitating their illegal marriage.

Aaliyah admitted in court documents that she had lied about her age. In May 1997, she filed suit in Cook County seeking to have all records of the marriage expunged because she was not old enough under state law to get married without her parents’ consent. It was reported that she cut off all professional and personal ties with Kelly after the marriage was annulled and ceased having contact with him.
– Wikipedia, Aaliyah

After she cut contact with R. Kelly, people close to Aaliyah noticed that she appeared to be severely traumatized by the relationship and that she categorically refused to talk about it.

Aaliyah was known to avoid answering questions regarding Kelly following the professional split. During an interview with Christopher John Farley, she was asked if she was still in contact with him and if she would ever work with him again. Farley said Aaliyah responded with a “firm, frosty ‘no'” to both of the questions. Vibe magazine said Aaliyah changed the subject anytime “you bring up the marriage with her”. A spokeswoman for Aaliyah said in 2000 that when “R. Kelly comes up, she doesn’t even speak his name, and nobody’s allowed to ask about it at all.” Kelly later commented that Aaliyah had opportunities to address the pair’s relationship after they separated professionally but chose not to.

In 2019, Damon Dash revealed to Hip Hop Motivation that Aaliyah didn’t even speak of her relationship with Kelly in private; she tried multiple times to discuss it with him, but was only able to find the courage to say that Kelly was a “bad man”. She told him that she could only possibly discuss the relationship with a professional counselor. Dash said he was unable to watch Surviving R. Kelly because its interviews with visibly traumatized girls struggling to discuss their encounters with Kelly reminded him of how Aaliyah behaved when trying to recount her relationship with Kelly.
– Ibid.

At the time of her death, Aaliyah was in a relationship with Dame Dash, the co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records with soon-to-be industry juggernaut Jay-Z.

Industry Elite: Aaliyah with Dame Dash, Jay-Z and Diddy (read my article about him).

Some theories claim that Aaliyah’s link with these industry moguls ultimately lead to her death. Two weeks before the crash, Aaliyah was seen spending time at the summer house owned by Dash and Jay-Z in East Hampton.

The claim that the Illuminati runs the entertainment business is hardly new. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that one popular theory around Aaliyah’s death is that she was killed as a blood sacrifice, with many citing Jay Z, Beyoncé, and Dash as the main offending parties. As with most of these theories, proponents of it believe Aaliyah wanted to get out of the society or maybe even reveal the truth about it, and this believed to be what got her killed.
– Gonsalves, op. cit.

Some believe that Jay-Z and Beyoncé were chosen to become the king and queen of the music industry in the following years. And this made Aaliyah … the queen of the damned.

Queen of Damned: Aaliyah’s last movie was completed shortly prior to her death.

The story of Queen of the Damned is symbolic. It is about blood-drinking vampires in the music business who plan to take over the world. Aaliyah played the role of Akasha aka the Queen of the Damned. Without going into details, the movie ends with another vampire sucking all of Akasha’s blood and killing her. Afterward, that vampire became the new Queen of the Damned.

In short, Akasha was killed and a new successor took her place.

In Conclusion

The claims regarding Aaliyah being drugged and carried into the plane that led to her death might not be true as they are solely based on one eyewitness account. However, it would explain why a known anxious flyer such as Aaliyah boarded a plane in such a dangerous situation. Furthermore, why would her team take such a risk when they could easily call for a big, safe, and luxurious jet if they wanted to.

We might never know all of the details regarding Aaliyah’s death. And when there are rumors and confusion regarding a high-profile death, it is often because something fishy went down behind the scenes.

One thing is for sure, Aaliyah’s story is a perfect example of what happens to young souls who enter the dark side of the industry: They turn from “Baby Girl” to “Queen of the Damned”.

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