NEWSAaliyah’s Final Texts to Damon Dash Revealed: ‘I Don’t Like the Plane’ Before Fatal Crash
Aaliyah was reportedly concerned about the plane before the fatal crash.
Aug. 26 2026, Published 1:52 p.m. ET
Aaliyah's concerned texts to Damon Dash before her fatal plane crash have recently surfaced.
Dash told Us Weekly in an interview published on her 25th death anniversary on Tuesday, “She texted me saying, ‘I don’t like the plane.’ I told her, ‘Don’t get on it.'”
Aaliyah's former boyfriend Damon Dash claimed she had an uneasy feeling about getting on the plane before her fatal crash.
Apparently, the Princess of R&B had an uneasy feeling about getting on that plane, as she said in her final texts to her former boyfriend.
“However, she said she had to do it for the video,” he continued, referring to the fact that Aaliyah was flying from the Bahamas to Florida after filming her “Rock the Boat” music video.
Damon Dash Says Aaliyah Was 'Always Scared of Planes'
Aaliyah was reportedly 'always scared of planes' and used to travel with a 'satin pillow' and 'called it her good-luck pillow.'
Dash continued, “She knew the plane wasn’t right, and she was always scared of planes.”
Per his claims, the singer, who was 22 at the time of her death, used to travel with a “satin pillow” and “called it her good-luck pillow.”
He then speculated that his late girlfriend eventually boarded that plane so that she could quickly return to him.
“She said, ‘I am just going to do this video then come right back,'” he revealed.
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Eyewitnesses Claimed Aaliyah Voiced Her Concerns About the Plane
Eyewitnesses also claimed Aaliyah vocalized her concerns about the plane.
Four years prior to Dash's latest account, in Kathy Iandoli's 2022 biography on Aaliyah titled Baby Girl: Better Known as Aaliyah, Iandoli also claimed that an eyewitness alleged that the singer vocalized her concerns about the plane.
At the time, she was reportedly given a pill by one of her team members after saying she had a headache, per Us Weekly.
As per Kingsley Russell, who was working for a transportation company, she was carried on the twin-engine Cessna 402B while asleep around 6:50 p.m. on August 25, 2001.
Aaliyah's plane crashed less than a minute after leaving the runway and caught fire.
According to an investigation, per CBS, the plane was being flown by pilot Luis Antonio Morales, 30, who was not approved to fly the aircraft. He was also reportedly under the influence of alcohol and cocaine.
The plane crashed less than a minute after leaving the runway and caught fire. Further investigation into the matter revealed that the vehicle was overloaded by 700 pounds, and the weight onboard wasn’t evenly distributed either.
Also onboard that carrier were Aaliyah's bodyguard Scott Gallin, 41; Anthony Dudd, 34, Christopher Maldonado, 32, and Eric Forman, 29, from the glam team; music executives Gina Smith, 30, and Douglas Kratz, 28; and the singer’s friend, Keith Wallace, 49.
