On the night of November 24 , 2001 , Thornton died in the crash of Crossair Flight 3597 near Zürich , Switzerland , at the age of 34 . Thornton had given her final performance in Leipzig and immediately afterwards taken the flight from Berlin to Zürich for upcoming radio and TV appearances ( among others , the broadcast '' Die Bar '' on TV3 , which was cancelled ) to promote her new single " Wonderful Dream ( Holidays Are Coming ) " ( a Christmas ballad recorded for a German Coca-Cola TV commercial ) and her album '' Ready to Fly '' . Thornton was laid to final rest in her native South Carolina , at Mount Pleasant Memorial Gardens , Mount Pleasant , Charleston County , South Carolina
Crossair Flight 3597
Crossair Flight 3597
Melanie Thornton