Aaliyah
We Need A Resolution

The Cessna 402 crashed in perfect weather Saturday night shortly after takeoff in the Bahamas, where the 22-year-old singer/actress was shooting a music video. Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board investigators are expected to arrive in the Bahamas today.

Investigators believe Aaliyah died instantly in the crash. However, one victim was found alive, but later died in a Miami hospital.

The other passengers killed in the crash were Scott Gallin, 41; Keith Wallace, 49, of Los Angeles; Douglas Kratz, 28, a representative for Virgin Records and Eric Foreman, 29, both of Hollywood, California; Gina Smith, 29, of New Jersey; and Christopher Maldonado, 32, of New York. The pilot, identified only as L. Marael, was also killed, and Anthony Dodd, 34, of Los Angeles, died in the hospital on Sunday.

Aaliyah, a multi-platinum selling artist, earned Grammy nominations for her songs "Try Again" and "Are You That Somebody." She made her acting debut last year with a starring role in the Jet Li film Romeo Must Die, was slated to appear in the upcoming sequels to The Matrix and had recently finished shooting Queen of the Damned, based on the Anne Rice vampire novel, in which she played Queen Akasha.

Was the Plane Overloaded?

While investigators are leaning toward engine failure as the cause of the accident, the New York Post is reporting that the Cessna's pilot and the singer's video crew got into a heated argument before takeoff over the weight of the equipment and passengers.

The pilot argued the plane was dangerously overloaded, but eventually gave in and took off, fellow pilot Lewis Key told the tabloid.

But Key added that the pilot also had trouble getting one of his engines started — another suggestion that engine failure may have led to the tragedy.

Promising Career Ahead

Meanwhile, the music world is mourning the loss of someone who appeared to be on the threshold of a huge career.

"I think Aaliyah was the next Jennifer Lopez, the next Whitney Houston, the next Madonna, the next Janet Jackson," said Emil Wilbekin, editor-in-chief of Vibe magazine.

"She was a great dancer, she was a great singer and she had a great attitude and people liked working with her and people genuinely liked her."

Wilbekin said he watched her grow from a 15-year-old teen singer to a multi-platinum selling artist and actress.

"It's just been really amazing to watch her grow," he said. "Aaliyah really represented for young people someone who was very hard working, someone who was very driven, someone who had this dream being a great entertainer, a singer and an actress. And at the young age of 22, was actually achieving those dreams and was extremely successful."

Not only was she embarking on a promising movie career, having already starred in Romeo Must Die, but her music, which had already received a Grammy nomination, was evolving from the punchy, pop-influenced Hip Hop and R&B sound of her first two albums to a more mature, introspective sound.

In fact, before Brandy, Brittany, Christina et al there was this hugely talented, 15-year-old R&B chaunteuse from Detroit who mixed R&B and Hip Hop and caused quite a stir in the music world.

"She was one of those talents that you just wanted to see more of," said Rashod Ollison, a music critic for the Journal News of White Plains, NY.

Born in Brooklyn, Raised in Detroit

Aaliyah was born Aaliyah Haughton on January 16, 1979 in Brooklyn, New York. She and her family moved to Detroit when she was five years old. After singing in her church as a youngster, she began performing at the age of 11 with Gladys Knight, whose ex-husband Barry Hankerson, was her uncle, in Las Vegas.

She is survived by her mother, father and brother.

"Aaliyah's family is devastated at the loss of their loving daughter and sister," said a statement from the singer's publicist, PMK. "Their hearts go out to those families who also lost their loved ones in this tragic accident."

Her debut album Age Ain't Nothing But a Number, released when she was only 15, went gold. It was produced by R&B crooner R. Kelly and featured Hip Hop elite Timbaland and Missy Elliott.

Her second album If Your Girl Only Knew went double platinum.

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

She was celebrating her third album, the self-titled Aaliyah released this summer.

ABCNEWS Radio contributed to this report.