Aaliyah was killed by severe burns and a blow to the head when her plane crashed two years ago.
But even if she had managed to survive the crash, her life would likely have been cut tragically short.
Such were the findings of the pathologist who testified Monday at the opening of an inquest into the deaths of the singer-actress and eight others following an August 25, 2001 plane crash in the Bahamas.
Dr. Giovander Raju, who performed autopsies on several of the victims, including Aaliyah, reported that the 22-year-old entertainer succumbed to the traumatic injuries sustained during the crash. He also said she "suffered generally from a weak heart."
"Aaliyah went into such a state of shock, even if she had survived the crash, recovery would have been near impossible," Raju explained to the presiding coroner, William Campbell, and the seven-member jury that will ultimately determine how Aaliyah and the others officially died.
The inquest is being held on Abaco Island, just miles from where the twin-engine Cessna went down.
Aaliyah was in the Bahamas to shoot a video for her track "Rock the Boat." She and the others had chartered the aircraft to return them to Miami. But it crashed moments after takeoff.
Investigators said theCessna was severely overloaded and that pilot Luis Morales was not licensed to fly the plane. An autopsy later showed that Morales had cocaine and alcohol in his system at the time of the crash.
In September, Aaliyah's parents, Michael and Diane Haughton, announced they had settled wrongful-death lawsuits against Aaliyah's label, Virgin Records (which planned the trip), and the owner and operator of the plane.
Despite her death, Aaliyah's popularity has been unwavering. Her posthumous album, I Care 4 U, notched a top 10 debut last December, she received a Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Award in August for Best Female Artist and she was named Favorite R&B Female Artist at Sunday's American Music Awards.