Aaliyah mourned by fans

Singer-actress Aaliyah had just finished filming the "Rock the Boat" music video when she and eight others were killed in a plane crash at Marsh Harbour Airport on the island of Abaco in the Bahamas.

Investigation continues on the wreckage of the Cessna 402B, which reportedly burst into flames 200 feet beyond the end of the runway. The craft, which was bound for Opa-Locka Airport, Fl., was speculated to have suffered engine failure upon liftoff. It was later reported that the plane was overloaded.

Shortly after the accident, Aaliyah's family released a statement saying that they were "devastated at the loss of their loving daughter and sister" and that "their hearts go out to those families who lost their loved ones in this tragic accident."

Aaliyah, 22, had released her third album, Aaliyah, in July. It debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200 Charts. She was to be featured in the highly-anticipated sequels to The Matrix with Keanu Reeves and Lawrence Fishburne.

Tom Joyner, a syndicated radio-show host who followed Aaliyah's career, voiced the sentiments of many. "It's just unbelievable that a talent so young and so promising is gone," Joyner said.

Aaliyah is the latest pop star to die in an airplane crash. Buddy Holly, J.P. "the Big Bopper" Richardson and Ritchie Valens died in 1959 while flying to a concert in the United States. Soul singer Otis Redding, teen idol Ricky Nelson, two members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and John Denver also died in plane crashes.

Aaliyah was born Aaliyah Haughton in Brooklyn, N.Y., on January 16, 1979 and was raised in Detroit, Mich. Aaliyah, whose name means "highest, most exalted one" in Swahili, released her first album, Age Ain't Nothing But a Number, at the age of 15. Her next release, 1996's One in a Million, did even better, going multi-platinum.

She made her movie debut last year in Romeo Must Die - a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet - in which she and kung fu action star Jet Li played star-crossed lovers. Aaliyah also contributed four songs to the soundtrack, including "Try Again." The song was nominated for R&B Song of the Year at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards and also won for Best Female Video and Video from a Film at last year's MTV Music Video Awards.

Between albums, Aaliyah recorded another monster-hit soundtrack single, "Are You That Somebody," featured in the Eddie Murphy movie Dr. Dolittle. Both songs earned her Grammy nominations. Another soundtrack cut she popularized, "Journey to the Past," from Fox's animated movie Anastasia, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Song for its writers.

Her acclaimed performance in Romeo Must Die helped her land coveted roles in the two Matrix sequels, the first of which, The Matrix Reloaded, was in preproduction at the time of Aaliyah's death. Aaliyah apparently had shot some scenes for the sequels in the spring but was due to film the bulk of her role next year. She also recently starred in the title role of the Anne Rice vampire thriller The Queen of the Damned, slated for release in 2002.

Aaliyah's funeral took place Aug. 31 in New York City, where family, friends and fans paid their last respects.

Those who followed Aaliyah's career mourn the loss of an extraordinary entertainer, her versatility and incredible potential.