MARSH HARBOUR, Bahamas, Aug. 29 -- The pilot of the plane that crashed in the Bahamas last week killing nine including a rising recording artist Aaliyah had been sentenced to probation earlier this month for cocaine possession in Florida, it was reported Wednesday.
The Palm Beach Post in Florida said Luis Morales III, 30, was sentenced to probation Aug. 13 for being found with a small amount of crack cocaine in his car during a traffic stop in Pompano Beach, Fla., and for an earlier violation of selling stolen airplane parts. He pleaded no contest to all of the charges.
Adjudication of guilt was withheld and it was unclear whether the sentence would prevent Morales from flying comercially.
Regardless, Morales was not authorized to fly the Cessna 402B that crashed. Kathleen Bergen of the Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta said Blackhawk International Airways had a single-pilot certificate for the plane "meaning only one pilot was authorized to fly the plane that crashed." She said that pilot was not Morales.
Meanwhile, the investigation into the cause of the crash focused on overloading.
Bahamas aviation investigator Randy Butler said all the items from the plane have been weighed and totaled 7,000 pounds, 700 pounds more than the maximum allowed. He said there were other items aboard that were burned after the plane crashed Saturday night.
He said another problem is that investigators aren't sure where all the passengers were seated.
"That could have a great significance in doing the weight and balance," Butler said.
He said the two engines showed no evidence of malfunction, but they will be torn down so a final determination can be made on whether they caused the accident.
Aaliya, a 22-year-old rhythm and blues singer and actress from Detroit, and the other passengers aboard the Cessna 402 were in the Bahamas to film a music video. They had decided to come home early and chartered a different, smaller, plane than the one that brought them to the remote island.
Witnesses at the airport said the members of the video crew were eager to leave as soon as possible because the shoot had taken longer than had been scheduled.
Aliayah's body was flown to New York Tuesday and that of her bodyguard, Scott Gallin of Pompano Beach. The remainder of the bodies were expected to be shipped Wednesday.
Aaliyah was to appear in the sequel of the movie "The Matrix" and had a busy career marked by many recent accomplishments.
She released her first album at the age of 14. Her third album, released in July, debuted in the top five of the Billboard magazine's list.