Singer Aaliyah, Eight Others Die in Bahamas Plane Crash

Aaliyah, the 22-year-old Grammy-nominated R&B singer and actress, was killed along with eight others Saturday when the small plane they were in crashed shortly after takeoff in the Bahamas.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but engine failure was suspected. The plane took off in perfect weather.

Grand Bahamas Police Superintendent Basil Rahming says one of the Cessna's engines "apparently failed."

He says the plane crashed about 200 feet from the end of the runway, killing two women and four men "instantly." Three other men later died of their injuries.

The Cessna 402 was leaving Marsh Harbour airport for Opa-locka, Florida, police spokesman Marvin Dames said. Marsh Harbour is located on Abaco Island, about 100 miles north of Nassau.

On Sunday, the Cessna's nose section was lying about 20 yards from the rest of the battered fuselage, and luggage and pieces of the plane were scattered about, covered in sand.

Rahming said the other passengers killed were Scott Gallian, 41; Keith Wallace, 49, of Los Angeles; Douglas Kratz, 28, a representative for Virgin Records, and makeup artist Eric Foreman, 29, both of Hollywood, Calif.; Gina Smith, 29, also of Hollywood; Anthony Dodd, 34, of Los Angeles; and Christopher Maldonado, 32, of New Jersey. The plane's pilot, identified only as L. Maradel, also died.

The bodies were being taken to a funeral home in Nassau, where they were to be kept for relatives to help identify them, U.S. embassy spokesman Brian Bachman said. Some were badly burned in the crash, authorities said.

Virgin Records offered to pay for the relatives to come, Bachman said. He said the Caribbean country's government had not yet asked for the assistance of U.S. investigators, but still could do so.

Abaco Island Chief Councilor Silbert Mills said he happened to be at the airport and saw the plane taxi out. The next thing he knew, the plane was on the ground. He said he helped rescue a survivor.

"I pulled one from the aircraft, and he was screaming," Mills said. "He said he was in a lot of pain."

Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta, said the plane was owned by Skystream, a company based in Pembroke Pines, Florida. She said the plane crashed at the end of the airport's runway at 6:50 p.m.

A spokeswoman for Wichita, Kan.-based Cessna, Marilyn Richwine, said she was not aware of any safety problems with the twin-engine 402 model. The company has not manufactured that model for about 12 to 15 years, she said.

Aaliyah, of Detroit, was to begin shooting the video for "Rock The Boat" this month in Miami, according to her Web site. It was not clear whether she filmed that video while in the Bahamas.

The singer was born Aaliyah Haughton on January 16, 1979 in New York. She began performing at the young age of 11 when she sang on stage with Gladys Knight's troupe in Las Vegas. Her first album, Age Ain't Nothing But A Number, came out when she was 15 years old. She has collaborated with R&B singer R. Kelly, who produced her debut album and wrote many of the songs that appeared on it.

Aaliyah struck a licensing deal as a teen-ager after her uncle, Barry Hankerson, formed Blackground Records.

By age 18, Aaliyah had two hit records to her name.

"She was like one of my daughters, she was one of the sweetest girls in the world," said Quincy Jones, 68, the Grammy-winning producer, arranger and composer. "She vacationed with me and my family together in Fiji. I loved her and respected her and I am absolutely devastated."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.