Barry Hankerson Claims His Son’s Negligence May Have Caused Aaliyah’s Plane Crash

Aaliyah finds herself at the center of a family legal war that’s tearing apart her uncle’s relationship with his own son, and the accusations flying around involve her tragic 2001 plane crash.

According to TMZ, Barry Hankerson, Aaliyah’s uncle and longtime manager, filed a lawsuit against his son Jomo Hankerson and Blackground Records, claiming his cousin was paid to coordinate travel for her music video shoot in the Bahamas but failed to do his job.

Barry’s saying the fatal crash that killed Aaliyah and eight others might’ve been prevented if Jomo had actually handled the travel arrangements he was compensated for.

That’s a heavy accusation to throw at your own kid.

The lawsuit reveals that Barry believes Jomo’s failure to follow through on his responsibilities directly contributed to Aaliyah taking a different flight that crashed shortly after takeoff.

Barry says their relationship was never the same after her death, and now they’re battling it out in court over way more than just that tragic moment.

The real-money fight centers on music rights and publishing deals involving the catalogs of Aaliyah, Toni Braxton, DMX, and Timbaland through Blackground Records.

Jomo’s firing back with his own claims, saying his father breached a settlement agreement that was supposed to give him 12 percent of the money Barry made from those music assets.

Jomo alleges Barry used the record label to hide money and fabricate expenses unrelated to the music business, all to pressure him into accepting less than he’s actually owed.

He’s seeking over $1.2 million in damages for what he says is a clear violation of their deal.

Barry’s denying everything, claiming the settlement itself isn’t valid because it was executed under fraud.

He’s also accusing Jomo of threatening to release unreleased Aaliyah music if his financial demands weren’t met, which is a serious allegation in itself.