Cocaine in Body of Aaliyah Pilot
An autopsy performed on Luis Morales, the pilot of the plane that
crashed last August in the Bahamas killing R&B star Aaliyah,
revealed that he had cocaine and alcohol in his system at the time
of the accident. The autopsy results were part of the crash
investigation report filed by the Bahamas Department of Civil
Aviation.
The investigation has not yet revealed how Blanes’ condition
might have influenced the crash. Just prior to the crash, Morales
was sentenced to a three-year probation sentence for possession of
crack cocaine. A previous report claimed that the plane, a small
Cessna, was several hundred pounds overweight. A separate
investigation is also looking into the mechanics of the plane for
possible malfunctions.
Aaliyah, the pilot and seven other passengers were killed when
the plane went down on August 25th of last year. The singer was
returning to the U.S. from a video shoot. Earlier this year,
Aaliyah’s family filed a lawsuit against Virgin Records in May,
claiming that the record company, by hiring the wrong size plane
and an inexperienced pilot, was negligent in their daughter’s
death. Suits against Virgin and its music and video production
units, the plane’s owner, the charter air company, were also filed
earlier this year by the families of two other passengers killed on
the flight.