Publish date: 2023-12-26

The whole world was shaken by the untimely death of Aaliyah on Aug. 25, 2001, when she was among nine passengers that were killed in a plane crash from the Bahamas, where she shot her "Rock The Boat" music video. It was later revealed that the plane's pilot had drugs in his system and the aircraft had been loaded over its weight capacity (via New York Times). The singer was 22 years old.

According to her former boyfriend, Damon Dash, her death was one of the most heartbreaking moments of his life. "She was the best person I ever knew. ... I never met a person like her in my life," Dash told MTV in August 2001. "Every day that we were together, we cherished. Every memory — every day was a special event, whether it was going to a store or going to a movie or just sitting in a house. Wherever we were was like our own little party, in our own little world."

Losing a loved one isn't the easiest task, but Dash still mourns Aaliyah nearly two decades after her death. During an interview with Page Six in 2019, the record exec spoke candidly about his former lover. "She was just cool as hell ... we would laugh ... we never stopped hanging and that is what happened with her. There was never any obligation or any title ... just liking being around somebody for who they are," Dash said. "I was not in love with Aaliyah through the television — I fell in love with her from hanging out and meeting her. She looked different than Aaliyah on the TV screen." We're not crying, you are.

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