Fear of flying and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker

Fear of flying and Blink-182
drummer Travis Barker

While Blink-182 drummer Travis Parker has recovered from his physical injuries from his 2008 plane crash, he is still dealing with the psychological scars from his experience. In a Facebook post, Barker stated that he had not flown since his 19 September 2008 crash, and that he would not participate in a 2013 Blink-182 tour in Australia, hinting that hem may go to Australia for future concerts by ship.

Travis Barker's fear of flying
The situations that lead to the kinds of anxieties and behaviors associated with fear of flying can have many causes, many of which have little to do with the actual risk associated with flying. The AirSafe.com fear of flying section explains this in some detail, and provides links to additional information, including fear of flying resource guide.

Webinar on Travis Barker and fear of flying
Dr. Todd Curtis of AirSafe.com hosted a 21 February 2013 webinar where he discussed Travis Barker's plane crash, the basics of fear of flying, and ways that passengers have successfully dealt with this fear and returned to flying. A few days before this webinar, Barker had announced that he would not participate in an Australian tour by his band because of the fear of flying that he has had since he survived a 2008 plane crash that killed four of the six people on board. Watch the webinar below, or on YouTube

For more videos, visit the AirSafe.com YouTube channel.

Travis Barker Accident details

Date: 19 September 2008
Location: Columbia, SC
Operator: Global Exec Aviation
Aircraft: Learjet 60, registration N999LJ
NTSB Report Number: NTSB/AAR-10/02

Travis Barker, former drummer for the music group Blink-182, Adam Goldstein, more widely known as DJ AM, and two other passengers were in a Learjet 60 aircraft that was on a chartered flight from Columbia, South Carolina to Van Nuys airport in Los Angeles. The crash, which happened shortly before midnight, occurred during takeoff. According to information from the plane's cockpit voice recorder, the crew was attempting to abort the takeoff because of what they thought was a blown tire. The NTSB also reported that accident investigators reviewing the recording heard sounds consistent with a tire blowout.

The crew was unable to stop the aircraft before it departed the runway. The plane struck a series of antennas and lights, crashed through a fence, crossed a nearby highway, and came to rest on an embankment where it burst into flames.

The crash and subsequent fire killed both flight crew members and two of the four passengers. The two survivors, Barker and Goldstein, escaped the aircraft but suffered severe burns. Goldstein is also the former fiance of television personality Nicole Ritchie.

Barker and Goldstein had performed at a concert earlier in Columbia, and the two passengers who did not survive were support staff for the artists.

The aircraft was operated by Global Exec Aviation of Long Beach, California. Less than an hour before the accident, the plane had arrived in South Carolina from Teterboro, New Jersey. The FAA and NTSB online incident and accident databases showed no other events involving this aircraft, or the aircraft operator.

The Learjet 60 first flew in 1991 and was certified in 1993. This was the second fatal Learjet 60 crash, with the first occurring in 2002 in Brazil. According to the NTSB, there were six other Learjet 60 accidents and serious incidents, including one during flight testing in 1992. The FAA lists 23 less serious incidents since 1996.

NTSB report findings
In the final accident report, the NTSB determined that the probable cause of the accident was a combination of inadequate maintenance of the airplane's tires, which resulted in multiple tire failures during takeoff roll due to severe underinflation, and the flight captain's execution of a a rejected takeoff procedure during a phase of takeoff that was at a speed which which was inconsistent with both the captain's training and standard operating procedures.

Initial AirSafe.com report on the
Travis Barker plane crash from 2008

For more videos, visit the AirSafe.com YouTube channel.

Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | YouTube

Fear of flying and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker
http://airsafe.com/events/celebs/blink182.htm -- Revised: 1 May 2017