On August 25, 2001, a
Cessna 402
The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...
twin-engine light aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from
Marsh Harbour Airport
Leonard M. Thompson International Airport, formerly known as The Marsh Harbour International Airport , is an airport serving Marsh Harbour, a town in the Abaco Islands, The Bahamas. Leonard M. Thompson International Airport is the second busi ...
on the
Abaco Islands
Abaco is a variant Italian form of the Biblical name "Habakkuk" (but normally Abacùc or Abacucco).
Abaco may refer to:
People
*Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco (1675–1742), Italian composer and violinist
*Joseph Abaco (1710–1805), Belgian compose ...
of the Bahamas, killing the pilot and all eight passengers on board. Among the victims were American singer and actress
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...
and members of her entourage, including a hairdresser, her bodyguard and a record executive. The group had just completed filming of the
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "
Rock the Boat" and had
chartered the flight to return to
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
The subsequent investigation determined that the aircraft had attempted to take off while heavily overloaded; the eight passengers exceeded its certified maximum of seven. It also emerged that the pilot falsified records on his experience and qualifications to fly this type of aircraft.
Background
Appearing on
BET
Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
's ''
106 & Park
''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...
'' on August 21, 2001, Aaliyah announced that shooting of the
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
for the single "
Rock the Boat", to be directed by
Hype Williams
Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter.
Early life
Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...
, would begin the following day. Nearly sixty people worked on the video in the Bahamas.
On August 22, she travelled to
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, and filmed dance routines backed by a green screen during the day, with underwater shots for the video in the evening. On August 23, Aaliyah and employees of
Virgin Records America
Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...
flew to the Bahamas on two flights using a
Fairchild Metro III
The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San ...
,
chartered through Sky Limo.
She was scheduled to leave the Bahamas on August 26, but chose to leave the day before since she had finished early. Williams recalled, "Aaliyah left mid-production, so we were still shooting when she left."
The ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' printed one of the last photographs taken of Aaliyah, with a fan who wanted it as a souvenir, but wrongly labeled it as having been taken just before the crash flight departed. The photo was in fact taken when Aaliyah arrived in the Bahamas on Thursday, August 23.
[Farley, pp. 169–170.]
Accident
![Aaliyah-02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Aaliyah-02.jpg)
On Saturday, August 25, at 18:50 (
EDT), after she had completed her portions of the music video, Aaliyah and Virgin employees boarded a twin-engine
Cessna 402B (
registration
Register or registration may refer to:
Arts entertainment, and media Music
* Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc.
* ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller
* Registration (organ), th ...
N8097W) at the
Marsh Harbour Airport
Leonard M. Thompson International Airport, formerly known as The Marsh Harbour International Airport , is an airport serving Marsh Harbour, a town in the Abaco Islands, The Bahamas. Leonard M. Thompson International Airport is the second busi ...
, on the
Abaco Islands
Abaco is a variant Italian form of the Biblical name "Habakkuk" (but normally Abacùc or Abacucco).
Abaco may refer to:
People
*Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco (1675–1742), Italian composer and violinist
*Joseph Abaco (1710–1805), Belgian compose ...
, for the return trip back to
Opa-locka Airport
Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (formerly Opa-locka Airport and Opa-locka Executive Airport until 2014) is a joint civil-military airport located in Miami-Dade County, Florida north of downtown Miami. Part of the airport is in the city limit ...
in Florida.
The aircraft designated for the return flight was smaller than the one on which they had originally arrived, but it still had room to take on the whole party and all of their equipment.
The passengers had grown impatient because the Cessna was supposed to arrive at 16:30 EDT, but did not arrive until 18:15 EDT.
Charter pilot Lewis Key claimed to have overheard passengers arguing with the pilot, Luis Morales III, prior to take off, adding that Morales warned them that there was too much weight for a "safe flight". Key further stated: "He tried to convince them the plane was overloaded, but they insisted they had chartered the plane and they had to be in Miami Saturday night."
Key indicated that Morales gave in to the passengers and that he had trouble starting one of the engines.
According to
Kathy Iandoli
Kathy Iandoli (born February 24, 1979) is an American author and journalist. She has written for ''Vibe'', ''The Source'', '' XXL'', ''The Village Voice'', ''Rolling Stone'', '' Billboard'', Pitchfork, ''Playboy'', ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Maxim'', ''T ...
's 2021 biography, Aaliyah, a noted nervous flier, also had serious reservations of flying on the small plane and refused to board it. After arguing with the rest of her entourage about boarding the plane, she retreated into a taxicab to rest, claiming that she had a headache. One of the passengers was sent to check on her and proceeded to slip her a
sedative
A sedative or tranquilliser is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement. They are CNS depressants and interact with brain activity causing its deceleration. Various kinds of sedatives can be distinguished, but t ...
; she was then carried unconscious into the plane.
The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, about from the runway.
Aaliyah and seven of the eight others on board were killed instantly. Scott Gallin, Aaliyah's security guard, survived the crashed, but died shortly afterwards. According to the
paramedic
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
s on scene, he spent his last moments asking about Aaliyah's condition.
One witness recalled the condition of the bodies: "It was an awful sight. Some bodies were so badly disfigured, you couldn't identify them. And two guys were alive – one screaming and screaming for help. He was horribly burned all over."
A pilot who witnessed the crash saw the Cessna go down as he was working on some machinery "about half a mile" away. He recalled the aircraft being only "60 to 100 feet" off the ground before it crashed. He went to get a fire truck and was stunned by what he saw upon arriving at the crash site. "It was pretty devastating. The aircraft was broken into pieces and some of the seats were thrown from the aircraft."
Reaction
Fans of Aaliyah were reportedly grieving in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where the singer had spent the first five years of her life before relocating to
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
.
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
told the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
that he was devastated by her death. Bahamian tourism minister
O. Tommy Turnquest stated: "We find it devastating and most unfortunate that after having this world-famous star Aaliyah and her crew select the Bahamas as their choice location for her latest video, the project has climaxed on such a tragic note."
Two days after she died, on August 27, fans gathered near her former high school to remember her in a
candlelight vigil
A candlelight vigil or candlelit vigil is an outdoor assembly of people carrying candles, held after sunset in order to show support for a specific cause. Such events are typically held either to protest the suffering of some marginalized group o ...
. By August 29, nearly 6,000 people had emailed
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
"expressing shock and sorrow" at her death.
Gladys Knight
Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944), known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer, actress and businesswoman. A seven-time Grammy Award-winner, Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Kn ...
said she felt "blessed" to have known Aaliyah and stated: "I watched her grow up, and, with the rest of the world, saw her achieve success with her special and unique talents." She continued: "From an early age, I knew she had enormous talents, an intrinsic gift. When she first performed with me in Las Vegas, she was still quite young, but she already had it – that spark the world would later see and fall in love with." Silbert Mills, an official on Abaco Island, reported the denizens playing her music there and added: "That's the whole tragedy of it. We felt as if we knew her, yet we didn't."
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...
lead singer
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
praised her good nature and stated: "She was one of the first celebrities we met, she was so nice, we went out, we hung out with her, and it's really sad and we're trying to be strong."
Lil' Kim
Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include:
*
*
*
*
* better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and reality television personality. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, she lived much of he ...
described the crash as "really devastating" and said she "could never find anything bad about her".
Actor
Jet Li
Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, Chinese martial arts, martial artist, and retired wushu (sport), Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singapo ...
, Aaliyah's co-star from the film ''
Romeo Must Die
''Romeo Must Die'' is a 2000 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak in his feature film directorial debut, and featuring fight choreography by Corey Yuen. The film stars Jet Li and Aaliyah in her feature film debut, It follows a C ...
'', heard of her death and was "deeply saddened that she is no longer with us. She was a wonderful and talented artist who will be missed by everyone whose lives she touched."
DMX called her "talented, classy, warm, beautiful, compassionate, humble."
Damon Dash
Damon Anthony Dash (born May 3, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and record executive. Dash is best known as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella along with Jay-Z and Kareem Burke.
Early life
Born in New York City, Dash swept the floors of a local barbe ...
said he was "crushed and heartbroken over the loss of such a beautiful and talented woman whom I loved deeply and meant the world to me". And Combs remembered Aaliyah as "just one of those individuals that would light up a room", adding: "She was very down to earth. She was a special individual...We all saw her grow up from a little girl into a woman. It's a hard, sad day for everyone."
Ginuwine
Elgin Baylor Lumpkin (born October 15, 1970), better known by his stage name Ginuwine, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. He began his career as a member of Swing Mob in the early 1990s. Signing to Epic R ...
referred to her as family, said he would miss her and offered his condolences to her family, while speaking to the New York ''
Daily News'' from Los Angeles.
Brian McKnight
Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma.
McKnight is known for h ...
complimented Aaliyah as being "really genuine and nice and not jaded about being a star".
Jill Scott said she felt numb over Aaliyah's death given her age, talent and beauty and added, "It hurts, and it's sad, and we'll miss her."
On August 27, Star, a
shock jock
A shock jock is a radio broadcaster or DJ who entertains listeners and attracts attention using humor and/or melodramatic exaggeration that may offend some portion of the listening audience. The term is used pejoratively to describe provocative o ...
at New York radio station
Hot 97
WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...
, mocked Aaliyah's death by playing a tape of a woman screaming while a crash was heard in the background. Rumors circulated that he was attacked by friends of Aaliyah, which he denied. Star was suspended and expressed remorse for his actions, admitting they were in "poor taste". He said, "I'm trying not to make fun of anything Aaliyah-related right now, because I'm aware people are trying to focus all their anger on me."
Remains returned to the United States
On August 28, Aaliyah's remains were transported from the Bahamas back to the United States. Over 100 people waited outside the funeral home in
Nassau
Nassau may refer to:
Places Bahamas
*Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence
Canada
*Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792
*Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...
as four men lifted her coffin into a hearse. It was then taken to the
Nassau International Airport, where a private jet waited to return the body to
Newark International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jerse ...
in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.
The other victims' bodies were
repatriated
Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
on August 29. A
U.S. Embassy
The United States has the second most Diplomatic mission, diplomatic missions of any country in the world List of diplomatic missions of China, after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as obse ...
spokesman reported that Virgin Records America paid the cost of all mortuary services in the Bahamas, the return of the bodies to the U.S., as well as the funerals.
Aaliyah's family were staying at the
Trump International Hotel in New York when her body was returned. Staff reported flowers and condolences had been sent in steadily since her death. A worker at the reception desk disclosed that at least 500 bouquets, delivered mostly by grieving fans, had arrived for the family in the three days between the crash and the return of her body. Aaliyah's publicist, Jill Fritzo, said the Haughton family was touched by the support they received from fans and reported the condition of the family: "They're hanging in there. It's very tough for them".
Investigation
According to the findings of an
inquest
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...
conducted by the
coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
's office in the Bahamas, Aaliyah suffered from "severe burns and a blow to the head", in addition to severe
shock
Shock may refer to:
Common uses Collective noun
*Shock, a historic commercial term for a group of 60, see English numerals#Special names
* Stook, or shock of grain, stacked sheaves
Healthcare
* Shock (circulatory), circulatory medical emergen ...
and a weak heart. The coroner theorized that she went into such a state of shock that even if she had survived the crash, her recovery would have been nearly impossible. The bodies, some of them badly burned, were taken to the morgue at Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, where they remained until relatives made positive identification.
The accident was investigated by the Civil Aviation Department. It determined that the aircraft was over its maximum takeoff weight by more than and had one more passenger than it was certified to carry. An informational report issued by the
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
(NTSB) stated, "The airplane was seen lifting off the runway, and then nose down, impacting in a marsh on the south side of the departure end of runway 27."
It indicated that pilot Morales was not approved to fly the aircraft.
Morales had falsely obtained his
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
license by showing logs of hundreds of flight hours he had never flown. He may also have falsified the number of hours he had flown to get the job with his employer,
Blackhawk International Airways
Blackhawk International Airways was an aircraft charter rental and leasing company based at New Providence in the Bahamas. Blackhawk was owned by Gilbert Chacón and his son Erik who founded the company in 1991. The small charter and tour business, ...
. Additionally, Morales' toxicology report revealed traces of
cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
and
alcohol
Alcohol most commonly refers to:
* Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom
* Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks
Alcohol may also refer to:
Chemicals
* Ethanol, one of sev ...
in his system.
The NTSB reported that the maximum allowed gross weight of the aircraft was "substantially exceeded" and that the center of gravity was positioned beyond its rear limit.
The U.S. joined the investigation on August 27, 2001, as authorities from the NTSB and the FAA arrived in the Bahamas. On August 31, the day of Aaliyah's funeral, an independent expert of the Cessna Pilots Association reported that the aircraft was overloaded.
Criticism of Blackhawk
Blackhawk International Airways came under scrutiny by the FAA, which reported that the charter service had authorization for limited use of the aircraft, including that only one specific, named pilot was permitted to fly the aircraft and that Morales was not that authorized pilot. In the three years prior to the crash, Blackhawk was cited four times for violations. The company was fined $1,500 in 1998 () for violating safety rules in U.S. airspace. It received a warning for not testing employees for drugs in 1999 and was cited in 2000 for failing to comply with maintenance standards.
Gilbert Chacon, head of Blackhawk at the time of the crash, pleaded guilty in 1993 to
bankruptcy fraud
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
involving another charter service. There was no evidence that Blackhawk managers had prior knowledge of Chacon's background.
Pilot's background
After the crash, revelations came to light concerning Morales' private life, as well as his activities during the final month before the crash. From an early age, Morales had expressed interest in aviation. His grandfather was a commercial pilot who gave him his first flights at age eleven. Morales began formal flight training at age seventeen at the Isla Grande Flying School at
Fernando Ribas Dominicci Airport
Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport , also commonly known as Isla Grande Airport, is an airport in Isla Grande, a district in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and is adjacent to the Pu ...
in Isla Grande,
San Juan,
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. Following the accident, authorities told his relatives not to discuss the case; however, Morales' sister spoke on behalf of the family: "We are confident the investigation is not going to disclose anything that would involve negligence on behalf of my brother. He has vast experience flying planes. He had been doing it since he was 14... They are talking about a person who cannot defend himself."
Morales received his pilot's license in February 2000.
His job for Blackhawk was his second attempt to work as a commercial pilot since getting his license.
In October 2000, he had been turned down for being too inexperienced after applying to Tropic Air of
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...
.
Broward County
Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...
sheriff's records showed Morales had been caught with
crack cocaine
Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...
in his car after being pulled over for driving through a stop sign on August 7, 2001; he was booked on a
felony
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
cocaine-possession charge. He was also charged for driving with a suspended license and running a stop sign. Morales told officers he was in the area to purchase powder cocaine for a friend.
He was sentenced to
probation
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration.
In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
on August 13, 2001.
Other reports, such as one by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and another in the Broward County ''
Sun-Sentinel
The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...
'', questioned whether Morales was qualified to fly the aircraft. Gabriel Penagaricano, a lawyer for the Morales family, dismissed any questions about his flight record as "the words of a fool". He defended Morales as a "young man, totally dedicated to his profession ...
hohad set his sights on flying for one of the major airlines. In the meantime, he was doing what everybody else of his age and experience does, which is to fly for a charter operator in order to build up flying time." Penagaricano claimed Morales was "certainly" qualified to pilot a Cessna 402B.
[Farley, p. 173-174.] Shortly before the crash, Morales was fired as a pilot from Golden Airlines in Florida for failing to appear at work.
On August 28, 2001, U.S. aviation officials said that Morales had been hired by Blackhawk just two days before the crash and was not authorized by the FAA to fly the aircraft for the operator. FAA records showed that Blackhawk was clear to fly aircraft under a single-pilot certificate. However, according to Kathleen Bergen, Morales was not on the name authorization papers. Bergen did not identify the pilot who was on the papers, since "it would not be appropriate" to release it, but confirmed Morales was not qualified to fly the Cessna.
Morales' father addressed his son's death and responsibility in the crash: "Luis was responsible for nine lives – eight plus his own. Someone is going to have to respond for those eight lives. And someone is going to have to respond for his life to me."
He said he had spoken to his son in early August 2001 and the younger Morales related he was doing something he was passionate about.
Lawsuits
The day of the crash was Morales' first official day with Blackhawk, an FAA Part 135 single-pilot operation. He was not registered with the FAA to fly for Blackhawk and, as a result of the accident, Aaliyah's parents filed a
wrongful death
Wrongful death claim is a claim against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as enumerated by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are compensated for the harm, l ...
lawsuit against the company, which was
settled out of court
In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in t ...
for an undisclosed amount. Barry & Sons, Inc., a corporation formed in 1992 to develop, promote and capitalize Aaliyah, and to oversee the production and distribution of her records and music videos, brought an unsuccessful lawsuit in the
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...
against Instinct Productions LLC, the company that was hired in August 2001 to produce the music video for "Rock the Boat". The case was dismissed because New York's wrongful death statute permits only certain people related to the deceased to recover damages for wrongful death.
Family lawsuits
The families of Foreman and Dodd filed lawsuits against Virgin Records America, alleging the record company was negligent in chartering the aircraft that crashed, killing all the passengers. The lawsuit noted that Blackhawk had been cited four times in the previous four years. At a
news conference
A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...
, attorney Brian Panish charged that the crash victims died instantly because Virgin Records America "put profits over people". In less than a week, the relatives of Gallin sued Virgin Records America, claiming that the label, and its affiliated music and video production units, were liable for his death because they handled the arrangements for Aaliyah's video shoot in the Bahamas. Gallin's relatives claimed that the label should have hired a "competent" transportation broker and air charter company, and that Blackhawk allowed the pilot to fly the aircraft even though he was unqualified, and took off with it dangerously overloaded. Stuart Grossman represented the Gallin family during the lawsuit and reasoned that even the pilot did not want to take off because of overloading and called it "outrageous". He added: "This is a case of trying to put a size 12 foot in a size 10 shoe."
Diane and Michael Haughton lawsuit
In May 2002, Aaliyah's parents filed a lawsuit, similar to those filed by the families of Foreman and Dodd, against Virgin Records America in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, alleging negligence. Their lawsuit claimed that a "dangerous and unsafe configuration" of the Cessna was the cause of the crash and that it was the "wrong plane" for the charter flight; the
litigation
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
also asserted that Morales was not properly qualified to operate the aircraft. In addition to suing Virgin Records, the lawsuit named Blackhawk, music video director Harold Williams, Instinct Productions, Big Dog House Films, Blackground Records LLC and Skystream. An investigator for the Civil Aviation Department stated neither Blackhawk nor Skystream had a permit to operate commercial charter flights in the Bahamas. In September 2003, the Haughtons' lawyers filed a notice in federal court that the case had been settled with an agreement to keep the monetary details confidential.
Nassau funeral home
In August 2002, the funeral home that had prepared the crash victims' bodies publicly accused Virgin Records America of not paying its bill.
Loretta Butler-Turner
Loretta Butler-Turner is a Bahamian mortician and politician. She was the Leader of the Opposition in the Bahamian Parliament from December 2016 to May 2017.
Early life
Loretta Butler-Turner was born in Nassau, Bahamas to Rose Marie (née T ...
, of Butler's Funeral Homes and Crematorium in Nassau, told
''Time'' magazine that $68,000 was spent preparing the bodies and, at the time, Virgin executives Ken and Nancy Berry agreed to cover all expenses. At the time of Turner's announcement, the Berrys had left the record label. Turner tried to contact executives at Virgin Records and appealed to the U.S. Embassy in Nassau for help, but failed to resolve the situation. Although the funeral home did not take legal action, Turner did contact Robert Spragg, the Haughtons' lawyer. According to Spragg, the label also owed the Haughton family money for funeral costs, stating: "Those payments were never made to the family to reimburse those costs, and they were substantial."
Turner spoke to
E! Online about the case and reflected on how events had unfolded. "Because Aaliyah was, in their words, 'high profile,' they asked us to expedite things. So we were working over the weekend to get the bodies out as quickly as possible," Turner said. "
he deal
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' i ...
was all verbal, but the truth of the matter is,
he Berrysknew they were obliged. They contacted all of the families themselves, sent us all of the necessary information, and told us not to deal directly with the family members, that they would be responsible."
It was reported that Aaliyah's parents planned to file a lawsuit against Virgin Records for not fulfilling its promise to pay Aaliyah's funeral expenses. Turner said she would hold on to the victims'
death certificate
A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, as ...
s, which were required before estates could be settled or lawsuits could be filed.
Turner said she had been unsuccessful in contacting Virgin executives by telephone calls, letters and
fax
Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (the latter short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer o ...
es. She said the funeral home had a good relationship with the U.S. Embassy, which, according to her, had supported a potential lawsuit against Virgin Records since Butler's was a reputable company. "Now this reputable company
irginhas kept us waiting for nearly a year and have basically said, since the Berrys are no longer there, they have no responsibility to us. I don't know if they think we are some sort of Third-World banana republic and we're not up to scratch, but it just gives a pretty bad view of things in our view."
Ruling on the lawsuit against Instinct Productions
In May 2004, a judge ruled that Blackground Entertainment, Aaliyah's record company, could sue Instinct Productions, which had provided transportation for the "Rock the Boat" shoot. Blackground had filed a negligence lawsuit in civil court against Instinct in November 2003. Instinct argued that Blackground had no right to recover damages since Aaliyah was a company employee. But Judge Carol Edmead found that Aaliyah was also Blackground's chief asset. She wrote that the company's "growth and prosperity were primarily the result of its efforts to successfully develop and nurture Aaliyah's career". Edmead noted the company was founded in 1992 by Barry Hankerson for the sole purpose of promoting Aaliyah, who was thirteen at the time.
In popular culture
The
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
song "
Glory" mentioned the crash, with the rapper warning his daughter
Blue Ivy Carter
Blue Ivy Carter (born January 7, 2012) is an American singer. She is the first-born daughter of musicians Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Two days after her birth, ''Time'' dubbed Carter "the most famous baby in the world." That same day, her vocals were fe ...
to exercise safety in the lyric, "Just make sure the plane you’re on is bigger than your carry-on baggage".
References
External links
AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT FSI FILE # A0619836 FINAL REPORT Loss of Control after Takeoff Blackhawk International Airways Cessna 402B N8097W Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas 25 August, 2001–
Bahamas Civil Aviation Department
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
(report date is August 30, 2006)
{{Aaliyah
2001 in music
2001 in the Caribbean
August 2001 events in North America
Aviation accidents and incidents in 2001
Aviation accidents and incidents in the Bahamas
Aaliyah