Damon Dash Says Aaliyah Warned Him About the Plane in Her Final Texts

Twenty-five years after Aaliyah died in a plane crash in the Bahamas, Damon Dash says the singer expressed concern about the aircraft in her final text exchange with him.

Dash, who was dating Aaliyah when she died, told Page Six that she messaged him to say she did not like the plane. He says he urged her not to board it, but she wanted to return to the United States after filming the “Rock the Boat” video.

The new account is Dash's recollection, not a newly released phone record or an official aviation finding. That distinction matters in a tragedy that has accumulated claims, retellings and rumors for a quarter century.

The flight was overloaded

Aaliyah and eight other people died on August 25, 2001, when a twin-engine Cessna 402B crashed shortly after taking off from Marsh Harbour Airport in the Bahamas. She was 22.

Investigators determined that the aircraft was overloaded by roughly 700 pounds and that its weight was improperly distributed. The pilot was not properly qualified to fly the aircraft and toxicology testing found alcohol and cocaine in his system.

Those are established findings. Dash's description of the texts adds a painful personal detail, but it does not replace the documented causes and conditions identified after the crash.

Dash says she was already uneasy about flying

According to Dash, Aaliyah was generally uncomfortable with flying. He says that when she complained about the aircraft, he told her not to get on it. Page Six reported his comments on August 25, the exact 25th anniversary of the crash.

A separate claim published in a 2021 biography alleged that Aaliyah was given a pill after complaining of a headache and later carried onto the plane while asleep. That account came from an alleged eyewitness and has not been established through an official finding. It should not be fused with Dash's recollection as if the two stories have been independently verified together.

Aaliyah's parents later brought a lawsuit against the production company involved with the music-video trip. The case ended in an undisclosed settlement in 2003.

The anniversary belongs to more than the crash

The horror of the final flight can overshadow the speed and scale of Aaliyah's career. Her albums One in a Million and Aaliyah helped reshape R&B, while her restrained vocals, futuristic production and visual style influenced artists who arrived long after her death.

She also crossed into film with Romeo Must Die and Queen of the Damned. “Rock the Boat,” the video she had just finished filming, was released posthumously.

Dash's account is newsworthy because it presents what he says was the final private warning from someone he loved. It is also a claim that cannot be checked against Aaliyah's own voice. The responsible way to carry it forward is precisely: he says she was worried, he says he told her not to fly, and the official investigation later confirmed the plane should never have taken off under those conditions.