Investigation Update for Fatal Jet Crash That Injured Former Blink-182 Drummer Travis Barker

Sept. 28, 2008 - PRLog -- 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.

The NTSB has dispatched an 11-member team to investigate this crash. The investigation, including a determination of the probable cause of the accident, will likely take several months to complete.

Additional information about this event, including updates or findings from the NTSB investigation, will be available at http://blink182.airsafe.org.

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