Damon “Dame” Dash claimed that Aaliyah told hom “I don’t like the plane,” just moments before boarding the flight that crashed and killed her, according to the music executive.
Dash recalled the final exchange in an interview with Us Weekly published on the 25th anniversary of Aaliyah’s death.
“She texted me saying, ‘I don’t like the plane.’ I told her, ‘Don’t get on it,’” said Dash.
The 22-year-old singer had just finished filming her “Rock the Boat” music video in the Bahamas and was preparing to fly to Florida on August 25, 2001.
“However, she said she had to do it for the video,” Dash recalled. “She knew the plane wasn’t right, and she was always scared of planes.”
According to the former Roc-A-Fella exec, Aaliyah usually traveled with a “satin pillow” she called her “good-luck pillow.” Before the flight, he said she told him, “I am just going to do this video then come right back” but the singer never made it home.
Aaliyah and eight others died when the twin-engine Cessna 402B crashed less than a minute after takeoff and caught fire.
Investigators later found that pilot Luis Antonio Morales was not approved to fly the aircraft and had alcohol and cocaine in his system. The plane was also overloaded by about 700 pounds, with its weight improperly distributed.
Aaliyah’s “Rock the Boat” video was released posthumously in October 2001.
