Aaliyah Tragic

August 26, 2001 -At first, it seemed like one of those crazy rumors that go around the music industry.

Right after 10 p.m. EST, on Saturday, music industry two-ways started to blow up with the news that singer/actress Aaliyah had been in an airline accident. Nobody believed it at first. But less than an hour later, news reports confirmed that Aaliyah Dana Haughton, 22, had been killed instantly in a plane crash while returning from a video shoot in the Bahamas. The twin-engine Cessna 402 charter plane, had just taken off from Bahamas’ Marsh Harbour airport, in route to Opa-Locka, Florida, when it crashed at about 6:50 p.m. EST. Aaliyah was killed on impact.

While no one knows yet what caused the crash, there has been speculation from authorities that the plane was overloaded with luggage. There are also reports that there was some kind of engine failure upon takeoff.

Music industry legend Quincy Jones, whose daughter Kidada was Aaliyah’s best friend, told CNN: “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."

Aaliyah was in the Bahamas doing a video shoot for her next single “Rock the Boat,” which was scheduled for release next month. Filmmaker Hype Williams, best known for his flashy hip-hop videos with artists like P. Diddy, Busta Rhymes and Missy, was directing the video. He was not on the plane.

Diane Blankumsee, head of Royal D Marketing in New Jersey, handled all of the video promotion for the Blackground label, which was distributed by Virgin. She heard about the tragedy last night through one of Aaliyah’s publicists.

“What really most affected me about Aaliyah is that she was so intelligent. She was brilliant,” Blankumsee said. “She was [as regular as] of her fans, but at any other given time, she’d be using a five-syllable world because she was just that smart. She was intelligent, but she was very, very down to earth. She was pegged as diva, but she was not the ice princess. She was very likable and not caught up. She didn’t give you that. She was very, very sweet.”

“I didn’t believe it at first,” the stunned winner said Sunday. “It’s crazy to come into contact with somebody like that and then a week later, they’re gone from the face of the earth forever. But from that little bit of contact we had, it seemed like she was a cool person. When I first went up there, and we went to commercial, I didn’t know who to give the mic to. She was like ‘Sit down next to me.’ I couldn’t believe Aaliyah said that.”

Aaliyah was a popular guest on BET. This was her second “106 and Park” appearance this summer. “She was an amazing person,” says 106 and Park co-host A.J. “It was like an angel walking. She was a sweetheart. She had a fun spirit. It’s a devastating loss to the world. We lost one of God’s finest.” Big Tigger, host of “Rap City: The Bassment,” echoed those sentiments. “I'm still in disbelief,” he says. “How could this happen to such a sweet, young and talented person? Although I knew her personally only in a limited capacity, I feel like I've lost a close friend. I send my condolences out to her family, friends and fans. This unfortunate tragedy should serve as further evidence that no one is promised tomorrow.”

Because Aaliyah was in the business for so long, many people had fond memories of watching her evolve. Stephen Hill, BET’s vice of programming, is one of them, remembering a dinner he had with Aaliyah and her mother when the singer was only 17. “It’s an absolutely devastating loss,” says Hill. “She was a member of the BET family. She was just with us this past week, and we were involved in documenting her video shoot in the Bahamas it just goes to show how fragile life is. It’s still hard to grasp.”

Aaliyah’s film career had blown up, too. Her debut in last year’s “Romeo Must Die” garnered critical acclaim that helped her win roles in the upcoming film “Queen of the Damned,” and “The Matrix” sequels. It seemed that she was on the verge of the kind of multimedia superstardom enjoyed by Jennifer Lopez and Madonna. Industry observers considered Aaliyah to be a star on the rise. She was on the cover of Honey early last year, and editor-in-chief Amy DuBois Barnett says her career potential was limitless.

"Aaliyah had gone from a household name in the urban world to crossing over successfully through her music and recent film roles,” says Barnett. “We were just getting to know her as this funny, engaging person, a star in the truest sense of the word. “There aren't that many strong, making-it-happen females for young women to look up to, so she was fabulous role model. She was dynamic, smart, sexy and respected herself, making it on more than just her looks alone.”