Barry Hankerson, uncle of the late R&B artist Aaliyah, alleged in a lawsuit that his son, Jomo Hankerson, is responsible for the plane crash that resulted in Aaliyah's death 25 years ago. According to the lawsuit, Barry claims that Jomo was responsible for coordinating Aaliyah's travel from the Bahamas, where she was filming her 'Rock the Boat' music video, to Florida, and failed to fulfill his responsibilities. The private jet carrying Aaliyah and her crew crashed shortly after takeoff on August 25, 2001. Barry stated that the crash 'may have been avoided' if Jomo had properly coordinated the travel.
The lawsuit arises from a separate legal dispute in which Jomo is suing Barry over music rights, claiming he is owed 12 percent of the funds generated from Aaliyah's recordings and those of other artists, including DMX and Toni Braxton. Jomo alleges that Barry breached a settlement regarding recording masters and publishing rights and hid money through the record label. He is seeking $1.2 million in damages. Barry denied Jomo's allegations, calling the cited settlement a fraud and accusing Jomo of threatening to release unpublished music if his financial demands were not met.
Aaliyah, along with seven members of her team, died in the crash, which was caused by pilot Luis Antonio Morales, who was not authorized to fly the plane and was under the influence of cocaine and alcohol. The plane was also overloaded by 700 pounds. On the 25th anniversary of Aaliyah's death, her former boyfriend, Damon Dash, recalled that Aaliyah had expressed discomfort about flying, stating she texted him, 'I don’t like the plane.'