Aaliyah’s uncle blames his son for fatal plane crash in court battle over music rights
Aaliyah’s uncle Barry Hankerson alleged that his son is responsible for the plane crash that killed the R&B hitmaker 25 years ago.
Barry claimed that his son, Jomo Hankerson, was in charge of coordinating the “Try Again” songstress’s travel from the Bahamas — where she was filming her “Rock the Boat” music video — to Florida but “failed in his responsibility,” according to a lawsuit over music rights obtained by TMZ Monday.
Per the filing, the businessman stated that Aaliyah and her crew ultimately took a private jet that crashed within a minute of taking off, and the deadly accident “may have been avoided had [Jomo] followed through on his compensated task of travel coordination.”
Additionally, Barry claimed his and Jomo’s relationship changed after Aaliyah died at the age of 22.
The bombshell allegations are in a bitter lawsuit Jomo filed against Barry, alleging that the patriarch breached a settlement regarding recording masters and publishing rights of Aaliyah, DMX, Timberland and Toni Braxton, according to the outlet.
Jomo argued that he is owed 12 percent of the funds Barry made, citing an alleged settlement deal.
Jomo also alleged his father hid money through the record label, claiming that the latter had “manufacture[d] expenses that [had] nothing to do with the music assets, all for the purpose of pressuring [him] into accepting less than what he is owed.”
He’s also asking for $1.2 million in damages.
Barry denied his son’s allegations, stating that the settlement Jomo cited was fraud, and accused the latter of threatening to release unpublished Aaliyah’s music if his financial requests were rejected. Additionally, Jomo denied Barry’s claims.
Aaliyah — along with seven members of her team, including Keith Wallace, 49, Scott Gallin, 41, Anthony Dudd, 34, Christopher Maldonado, 32, and Eric Forman, 29, Gina Smith, 30, and Douglas Kratz, 28 — died while onboard the twin-engine Cessna 402B on Aug. 25, 2001.
Pilot Luis Antonio Morales, 30, was not authorized to fly the plane and was under the influence of cocaine and alcohol, per CBS.
The plane was also overloaded by 700 pounds, with the weight unevenly distributed.
Reflecting on Aaliyah’s death on the 25th anniversary, her former boyfriend, Damon “Dame” Dash, told Us Weekly that the hitmaker had a bad feeling about the plane and didn’t enjoy flying.
“She texted me saying, ‘I don’t like the plane.’ I told her, ‘Don’t get on it,’” he said earlier this month. “However, she said she had to do it for the video.”
The “Rock the Boat” video was released months after Aaliyah died in October 2001.
