Aaliyah took a sleeping pill, carried on the plane before the crash: book

According to an explosive new book about her life, R&B singer and actress Aaliyah did not want to embark on the flight that claimed the life of the rising star.

After remaining silent for decades, an eyewitness claimed the singer was given a sleeping pill and was transported – unconscious – to the suspicious plane before her fatal crash in 2001 in the Bahamas.

The shocking claim was dropped in a new biography, “Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah,” by music journalist Kathy Iandoli.

“They got her out of the van; she didn’t even know she was boarding a plane, ”said Kingsley Russell, 33, who was with Aaliyah – full name Aaliyah Dana Haughton – just before the fateful flight, reported the Daily Mail. “She went on the plane asleep.”

Russell, then 13, whose family ran a taxi business in the Abaco Islands, was in the cab as his mother drove the five-time Grammy winner and his team to the airport for their flight home to Miami. Aaliyah, 22, had just finished filming the music video for her single “Rock the Boat”, and her crew couldn’t wait to return to the United States.

However, Aaliyah – who was an anxious traveler – reportedly had reservations about boarding the plane after learning he was overweight. The pilot reportedly explained that the plane would be too bulky with eight passengers, including Aaliyah’s 300-pound bodyguard, along with their bags and cameras, the Daily Beast reported.

The “Romeo Must Die” actress reportedly got even more agitated when she arrived at the airport and spotted the small plane. Claiming that she had a headache, the Brooklyn native fell asleep in the cab while her team sorted out the mess, Russell testified.

A little later, the hip-hopper team returned to see what was wrong, after which Aaliyah reiterated her concerns. Russell claimed that at this point one of his team handed the “Loose Rap” singer a sleeping pill, causing her to fall into a deep sleep, after which they carried an unconscious Aaliyah onto the plane. .

The singer’s worst fears came true just after takeoff. The small twin-engine Cessna failed to gain altitude and crashed about 200 feet from the end of the runway, killing Aaliyah and the eight members of her entourage.

A subsequent autopsy revealed that Aaliyah had suffered severe burns and severe head trauma, which made her chances of survival “unthinkable,” the Daily Beast reported.

It later emerged that the small plane had exceeded its allowable weight by several hundred pounds, The New York Times reported. In addition, the weight was poorly distributed, making the aircraft difficult to control in flight. Meanwhile, the pilot allegedly tampered with his license and was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine at the time of the crash, according to a 2002 toxicology report.

The revelation went against reports at the time, which claimed that Aaliyah insisted on boarding the flight.

“I remember when Aaliyah passed away, I was really upset,” Iandoli told The Daily Beast. “History kept saying that she absolutely wanted to get on the plane. I was almost mad at her. Why did you want to get on that plane so badly? “

Unfortunately, Russell’s testimony did not provide much closure for the author.

“The only thing I took with me is that after 20 years, I can finally say that Aaliyah did not want to get on the plane,” she added. “It makes me feel a little better, but not a lot. This was not to happen. She should always be there, and I think that’s the saddest part about it.