NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) - The body of 22-year-old singer and actress Aaliyah was put onto a private jet and flown back to the New York area Tuesday, just days after she and eight others died in a plane crash.
More than 100 people crowded outside Butlers' Funeral Homes and Crematorium in Nassau, as four men lifted Aaliyah's body into a hearse. The body, shielded by a white box, was then taken to the Nassau airport where a New York-bound private jet was waiting.
Kendra McPhee, a 26-year-old chef who watched as Aaliyah's body was taken away, said she would miss the singer's soft-spoken nature.
``She was like a silent angel,'' she said.
Officials said that her body arrived at Newark International Airport about 6 p.m. EDT.
Aaliyah and the others had just filmed a music video on the Bahamas' Abaco Island. Their twin-engine Cessna 402B was bound for Opa-locka, Florida when it went down Saturday in clear skies roughly 200 feet from the end of the runway at Marsh Harbour airport on Abaco Island - 100 miles north of Nassau.
Shani Holland, a 13-year-old fan, went to the funeral home with her mother, sister and brother to pay their last respects.
``She just stood for women everywhere,'' said Holland, who mimicked the singer's dance routines and used them in a recent festival. ``She was so pretty, and she had a beautiful voice.''
Loretta Turner, of Butler's funeral home, said the R&B singer's body was flown back to New York, where she had lived. Details of her funeral arrangements were not released.
Family members identified the other crash victims as bodyguard Scott Gallin, 41, of North Miami, Florida; Keith Wallace, 49, of Los Angeles; Douglas Kratz, 28, also of Los Angeles, a representative for Virgin Records; makeup artist Eric Forman, 29, of Los Angeles; Gina Smith, 29, of North Bergen, New Jersey; Anthony Dodd, 34, of Los Angeles; and Christopher Maldonado, 32, of Los Angeles. Also killed in the crash was the plane's pilot, Luis Antonio Morales Blanes, 30, who lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but was originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Gallin's body was flown back to the United States on Tuesday. Funeral services for the bodyguard and actor - who had been in the films ``The Opponent,'' ``Bad Boys'' and in the TV hit, ``Miami Vice'' - were scheduled for Wednesday at Lakeside Memorial Park in Miami-Dade County.
Firefighter Colin Albury told WFOR-TV in Miami that when Gallin was still conscious at the crash site he said: ``I love my son, and I want to see my son.'' Gallin later died of his injuries.
Rose Marie Butler, the manager of the funeral home, said the other victims' bodies would be flown back to the United States on Wednesday.
U.S. and Bahamian aviation officials searched for clues Tuesday, saying they would investigate whether excess weight from baggage - among other possible causes - contributed to the crash.
Investigators have moved the fuselage and other fragments of the wreckage from the swampy area near the runway to a hangar at Marsh Harbour airport. On Tuesday they began the task of laying out bits of the wreckage in the hangar, marking them as exhibits and analyzing them.
``We're not going to take shortcuts with it,'' said Superintendent Marvin Dames, head of the police central detective unit. He said it is too early to determine why the plane crashed.
Two local newspapers, The Tribune and The Freeport News, on Monday quoted an unnamed baggage handler as saying he'd warned the pilot that the plane was too heavy for a safe takeoff.
Gloria Knowles, an office manager for Abaco Air, a local airline that flies in the Bahamas and Florida, said she saw a pickup truck on Saturday loaded with luggage from the plane that towered above the truck's sideboards.
Aaliyah (pronounced Ah-LEE-yah), who had two Grammy nominations, a platinum album and several high-profile movie roles, was killed instantly. Five others on board also died in the crash, while three more died later of their injuries, said Police Superintendent Basil Rahming.
Born in New York City and raised in Detroit, Aaliyah - whose name in Arabic means ``powerful one'' - later returned to live in Manhattan.

RETRANSMITTING TO CORRECT COUNTRY--The body of singer and actress Aaliyah is lifted into a hearse by staff from Butler's Funeral Homes and Crematorium Tuesday Aug. 28, 2001 in Nassau, Bahamas. The young rising star was killed in a plane crash over the weekend in the Bahamas. Her body was being transported to the United States. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen)

Fans of singer Aaliyah bow their heads and hold up candles during a moment of silence at a candlelight vigil ceremony for the late singer and former Detroit resident in front of her old high school at the Detroit High School of Fine and Performing Arts on Monday, Aug. 27, 2001, in Detroit. Aaliyah died in a plane crash Saturday, Aug. 25 in the Bahamas along with eight others. (AP Photo/Paul Warner)

Songs, prayer lift memory of Aaliyah
Crowd pays tribute at vigil near star's old school
August 28, 2001
BY KELLEY L. CARTER <mailto:carter@freepress.com>
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
At times, it felt like a Sunday sermon.
RELATED CONTENT
Keith Wallace: A friend of Aaliyah's <keith28_20010828.htm> U.S. officials join Bahamians at site <abox28_20010828.htm> Previous coverage <aal27_20010827.htm>
"Oh Lord, Jesus, we pray to you. We remind everyone here that that was somebody's daughter; that was somebody's sister," a voice boomed to the crowd via microphone. "Those were people's family members. We take time to honor her right now, Lord. We say thank you Jesus for such a wonderful person."
Other times, it felt like the call-and-response craziness of a live concert, with the crowd singing along to Aaliyah's first hit, "Back & Forth," drowning out the music that was blaring from loudspeakers:
"It's Friday and I'm ready to swing. Pick up my girls and hit the party scene. Tonight. Oh, oh, oh It's all right/ So get up and let/ This funky mellow groove. Get you in the mood. 'Cause you know it's all right."
And whether they came for one vibe or the other, they were there in droves early Monday evening to pay homage to Detroit-raised R&B singer Aaliyah, who was killed Saturday night in a plane crash in the Bahamas.
The crowd, which grew to more than 1,000 people, according to police estimates, lined Rosa Parks Boulevard in front of the Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing Arts -- Aaliyah's alma mater. A diverse crowd of men, women, teens and toddlers brought stuffed animals, poster boards, cloth murals, flowers and magazine covers to make the same point: It was much too soon for this Detroit homegirl to die.
"I came out here to honor one of the most inspirational performers and artists that I have ever seen," said 21-year-old Nicole Laginess, who choked back tears while holding a lit candle.
Some young people wore homemade white T-shirts, with "Romeo must die, but not Aaliyah" written in thick black marker on their backs. It was a reference to the martial arts movie "Romeo Must Die," in which Aaliyah starred last year. Others wore bandanas on their foreheads -- an old-school Aaliyah fashion accessory -- with the singer's name written in rhinestones on the cloth.
Detroit radio stations WDTJ-FM (105.9) and WJLB-FM (97.9) broadcast live from the candlelight vigil. At times, they played competing Aaliyah songs, blasting them from their remote vans. WJLB workers passed out handbills, asking fans to sign onto its Web site and post tributes. WDTJ passed out small, white candles.
Many people brought their own candles. One person brought burning incense and passed it around to passersby.
Fans were in awe that they were standing in front of the same school where Aaliyah once walked the halls.
"I wanted to pay my respects to Aaliyah. I never met her ...but you kind of feel like you know her," said LaDon Harris, 21.
WDTJ DJ Spudd, speaking into a microphone from the top of a black radio van, called for a moment of silence. At his command, the people in the crowd bowed their heads. Spudd then began to recite the names of everyone who was killed in the crash.
"Scott Gallian. Keith Wallace. Douglas Kratz. Eric Foreman. Gina Smith. Anthony Dodd. Christopher Maldonado. L. Maradel."
After he finished calling the names, someone in the band dropped the beat for another Aaliyah song.
The crowd went wild once again.
After that song, Aaliyah's remake of "At Your Best (You Are Loved)" came on and everyone began waving their candles side to side.
Not everyone present at the event was just a fan.
Tiffany Baylis and Tiffany Sims, both 22, are former classmates and friends of Aaliyah's. The three attended St. Bead's Catholic School in 1991 and 1992. The two talked about parties they used to go to together and how silly Aaliyah was.
They also expressed concern with how her family is taking the death.
"I knew her brother and I know how close they were," Sims of Southfield said. "She died such a horrible death and I know how close they all were. It just made me realize that you just have to live everyday to the fullest."
As of late Monday, funeral arrangements for Aaliyah were still pending.
KELLEY L. CARTER can be reached at 313-222-8854 or carter@freepress.com <mailto:carter@freepress.com>.

A hearse containing the body of singer and actress Aaliyah pulls up alongside a jet in a hanger at the Executive Flight Support at Nassau International Airport Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2001 in Nassau, Bahamas. The young rising star was killed in a plane crash over the weekend on Abaco Island after shooting a music video. Her body was being transported to the United States. (AP Photo/Tim Aylen)

FILE-- R&B singer and actress Aaliyah arrives for the 2001 Essence Awards in this April 27, 2001 file photo, at New York's Madison Square Garden. Aaliyah died Saturday, Aug. 25, 2001, when a small plane that was to carry her and eight others back to the United States crashed after takeoff in the Bahamas, authorities said.