On August 25 , 2001 , Aaliyah and eight others were killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas after filming the music video for the single " Rock the Boat " . The pilot , Luis Morales III , was unlicensed at the time of the accident and toxicology tests revealed that he had traces of cocaine and alcohol in his system . Aaliyah 's family later filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Blackhawk International Airways , which was settled out of court . Aaliyah 's music continued to achieve commercial success with several posthumous releases , and has sold an estimated 24 to 32 million albums worldwide . She has been credited for helping redefine contemporary R&B , pop and hip hop , earning her the nicknames the " Princess of R&B " and " Queen of Urban Pop " . '' Billboard '' lists her as the tenth most successful female R&B artist of the past 25 years , and the 27th most successful in history
killed in a plane crash
Death of Aaliyah
Aaliyah