Burbank High School grad dies in plane crash

Ryan Carter and Gary Moskowitz

BAHAMAS -- Douglas Kratz, 28, a 1991 graduate of Burbank High School,

died Saturday with eight others when a private plane, also carrying R&B;

singer Aaliyah Haughton, 22, crashed on the way back to the United States

from the Bahamas.

Kratz had just finished the production of Haughton’s video for the

song “Rock da Boat” and was heading home with the group when the

twin-engine Cessna 402 crashed, said Ray Cooper, co-president of Virgin

Records America, Inc.

Known by her fans as Aaliyah, Haughton had gained notoriety as a

teenager with the 1994 album “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number.”

Kratz had worked as a video producer with Haughton’s record label,

Virgin Records America, Inc., for the last two years, Cooper said.

The plane was leaving the Marsh Harbour Airport in the Bahamas on

Saturday evening destined for Miami.

Shortly after takeoff, the plane’s wings dipped. The craft then nose

dived into the ground, which was a swampy area near the airport,

according to a Federal Aviation Administration preliminary accident data.

In his senior year at Burbank High School (1990-91), Kratz was voted

homecoming king and also voted by classmates as best all-around.

“I remember him with his freckled face, dimples and a great smile.

This is a real shock,” said Helen Quayle, athletic director at Burbank

High School.

“He was your average, typical teenage guy and a lot of fun, and he

would be the first to help you with anything.”