Didn't know her, but this is sad anyway.

[Rilchiam]

Oh, god. Mr. Rilch thinks someone he knows and has worked with might have been on that plane. I wondered why he was following the story so avidly.

What I mean by "might" and "thinks" is, we know this guy was working on this video. Mr. Rilch's boss told us Courtney was in the Bahamas, "doing a video. Uh, Aaliyah." What's less certain is the possibility of his being on the plane. I would imagine the artist would leave earlier than the crew, but you never know. Courtney, I hope you're okay.

[Rilchiam]

What the hell happened to my thread? I beat Kunimitsu's thread by five minutes. Did I just preview it and not post? Oh, jeez, I did. I was keeping an ear open for Mr. Rilch on the phone, asking Ed if he knew when Courtney was supposed to come back.

Anyway, condolences to Miss Aaliyah's family and friends, and those of the other victims.

[Rilchiam]

Oh, it was a private plane. Well, he's a cool cat, but I don't imagine he was able to talk his way into the inner circle. Whew.

[Ringo]

I think you may have missed your other thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=83763) when looking for it.

Bad news. I hope you can confirm your friend is OK.

[ShibbOleth]

From what I can find (http://www.sptimes.com/News/082601/Worldandnation/Singer_Aaliyah_dies_i.shtml) there is no one named Courtney listed. Sad for these other people and their families, though.

[Rilchiam]

Thank you!