Aaliyah's uncle is accusing his son, the late singer's cousin, of being partly responsible for her death.
Barry Hankerson accused Jomo Hankerson of mishandling travel arrangements for a Bahamas trip more than 25 years ago that ended in a plane crash that killed the 22-year-old singer and eight others, according to documents obtained by USA TODAY.
On Aug. 25, 2001, the Grammy-nominee and her crew were headed to Miami from the Bahamas, where they filmed her "Rock the Boat" music video, when their chartered flight crashed at Marsh Harbour airport moments after takeoff.
Jomo Hankerson was allegedly paid "to accompany and coordinate the travel of his late cousin" but "failed in his responsibility" to do so, per the filing.
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It was later revealed that the plane had been overloaded by 700 pounds and the pilot, who had cocaine and alcohol in his system, was not authorized to be flying, according to CBS.
In his filing, Barry Hankerson, who was also Aaliyah's longtime manager, said the crash "may have been avoided had [Jomo Hankerson] followed through on his compensated task of travel coordination." He added that his relationship with his son was strained following the incident and Jomo Hankerson's "persistent misconduct."
USA TODAY reached out to attorneys for Jomo Hankerson and Barry Hankerson for comment.
The filing is part of Jomo Hankerson's ongoing lawsuit against Barry Hankerson and his record label Blackground Records for breach of contract. Jomo Hankerson alleged his father violated a settlement agreement over recording masters and music publishing rights for the works of Aaliyah, Toni Braxton, DMX and Timbaland.
Jomo Hankerson said he is entitled to 12% of the funds and further accused his father of using his label to hide money and manufacture "expenses that have nothing to do with the music assets, all for the purpose of pressuring [Jomo Hankerson] into accepting less than what he is owed." He is also seeking $1.2 million in damages.
Barry Hankerson denied his son's allegations in a counterfiling and argued that the settlement is invalid due to fraud and an "extortionate scheme" by Jomo Hankerson. Jomo Hankerson has denied any wrongdoing.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaliyah's uncle blames his son for plane crash that killed the singer
