Entertainment Music Missy Elliott Pays Tribute to Aaliyah with Emotional Video on the 17th Anniversary of Her Death Seventeen years after a plane crash claimed the life of 22-year-old R&B star Aaliyah, fans and fellow artists are honoring the "One in a Million" singer By Jordan Runtagh Jordan Runtagh Twitter Jordan Runtagh is an Executive Podcast Producer at iHeartRadio, where he hosts a slate of pop culture shows including Too Much Information, Inside the Studio, Off the Record and Rivals: Music's Greatest Feuds. Previously, he served as a Music Editor at PEOPLE and VH1.com. He's written about art and entertainment for more than a decade, regularly contributing to outlets like Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, and appearing as a guest on radio and television. Over the course of his career, he's profiled the surviving Beatles, Brian Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Roger Waters, David Byrne, Pete Townshend, Debbie Harry, Quincy Jones, Brian May, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Taylor and many more. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he lives in Brooklyn, where he can be found DJing '60s soul records. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 25, 2018 05:35 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Cindy Ord/BET/Getty Images; Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images Seventeen years after a plane crash claimed the life of 22-year-old R&B star Aaliyah, fans and fellow artists are taking to social media to honor the “One in a Million” singer. Missy Elliott posted an emotional video to Twitter, in which she can be seen penning a heartfelt note to the late artist. “Aaliyah, we miss you so much,” she begins, with a frown face added for extra emphasis, “but your legacy will live on forever and ever.” Elliott then pans the camera over to a pile of clothes festooned with Aaliyah’s name and face. “Aaliyah (Babygirl) I can only imagine how great you would be today winning oscars😉& creating sick music & still setting fashion trends!” Elliott, 47, captioned the brief clip. “Your mom & brother @RAD_6 & your fans been holding it down 4 u❤️you will always be A One in A Million🙌🏾 sleep peacefully angel Babygirl🙏🏾” Aaliyah died on Aug. 25, 2001 after the twin-engine Cessna 402B carrying the singer and her eight-person entourage crashed just after takeoff from Marsh Harbour Airport in the Bahamas. All on board were killed. It was later determined that the vehicle was overloaded by approximately 700 pounds and carried one extra passenger. The star — who would have turned 39 on Jan. 16 — had been in the Caribbean to complete filming her music video for “Rock the Boat,” a track off of her self-titled third album, her final LP released during her lifetime. The clip was nominated for best R&B video at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. Following a private funeral service that included R&B and hip-hop luminaries like Elliott, Timbaland, Gladys Knight, Lil’ Kim and Sean Combs, Aaliyah was laid to rest at the Rosewood Mausoleum in Hartsdale, New York.