Unlike reports that emerged following the crash, Russell says Aaliyah had repeatedly refused to board the plane, and instead was given a sleeping pill after telling her team that she had a headache and wanted to take a nap. The singer then fell asleep in the back of the taxi, and was carried onto the plane while unconscious. “They took her out of the van; she didn’t even know she was getting boarded on a plane,” Russell tells Iandoli. “[The airport staff] and Aaliyah had the common sense that the plane was overweight,” Russell says in the book. “The only thing I’ve taken with me is that after 20 years, I can finally say that Aaliyah didn’t want to get on the plane," Iandoli told The Daily Beast.

Source: MetroXpress August 02, 2021 15:09 UTC