In just a few weeks, we’ll be marking 20 years since Aaliyah passed away. The beloved singer was just 22-years-old with a career that hadn’t even peaked yet when she, along with several others, died in a plane crash as they departed the Bahamas. A new biography about the singer by Kathy Iandoli titled Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah chronicles Aaliyah’s life and in it, an alleged witness of her final moments claims she didn’t want to board the flight.
Kingsley Russell was 13 when his family was running a taxi company on the islands and claims it was his mother who drove Aaliyah to the airport. The singer had just finished filming the music video for her hit track “Rock The Boat” and everyone was excited to make the flight back to Miami.
“They took her out of the van; she didn’t even know she was getting boarded on a plane,” Russell stated.“She went on the airplane asleep.” Aaliyah was reportedly uncomfortable after learning that the plane had exceeded its weight limit and was already anxious about flying. When she arrived and saw how small the aircraft was, it caused greater concern.
Russell added that to ease her fears, Aaliyah was allegedly given a sleeping pill and by the time they boarded the flight, Aaliyah was being carried onto the plane because she’d already fallen asleep. Not long after takeoff, the plane crashed near the end of the runway, killing all eight passengers and the pilot. It was later determined that the plane was overweight by hundreds of pounds and the pilot was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine and had reportedly faked his pilot’s license.
Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah is slated to arrive on August 17. Pre-orders are available now.
[via]