Update: Travis Barker Plane Crash
Travis Barker, the former drummer for the pop-punk band Blink 182, and Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ AM, were hospitalized in critical condition with severe burns after the fatal crash of a Learjet Friday on takeoff from Columbia S.C. The wreckage of a Learjet that was carrying former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ AM, and four others rests on an embankment along Highway 302, along the outskirts of the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008, in Columbia, S.C. Barker and Goldstein, inset, were critically injured; two other passengers and two crew members were killed.
WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. - Hours after performing for thousands of South Carolina college students, former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and celebrity DJ AM were critically injured in a fiery Learjet crash that killed four people, authorities said Saturday.
The wreckage of a Learjet that was carrying former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, Adam Goldstein,.
The four victims who died never emerged from the plane’s burning wreckage. Barker and Goldstein both suffered severe burns, and are being treated at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga., burn center spokeswoman Beth Fritz told ABC News.
Travis Barker and DJ AM were passengers on plane that crashed, critically injuring them and killing four others. AP Photo: AP Photo: The wreckage of a Learjet that was carrying former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, Adam. DJ AM and musician Travis Barker pose backstage at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards held at Paramount Pictures Studio Lot in Los Angeles. Travis is currently in critical condition at Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, GA ( link ). There are many different Travis Barker items on eBay but one of the best is this autograph/photo frame , one of the few on eBay at this time.
Barker, 32, and Goldstein, 35, managed to get out of the plane on their own before rescue crews arrived, according to Lynne Douglas, a spokeswoman for the Columbia Metropolitan Airport. The Learjet was taking off from the airport shortly before midnight, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Controllers in the tower saw sparks as the plane was heading down the runway, and the pilot told controllers they were going off the end of the runway.
Farrell’s manager, Peter Katsis, confirmed to ABC News that Farrell was not on the Learjet that crashed. Lexington County Deputy Coroner Brian Setree confirmed for MTV News on Saturday morning that three men and a woman were killed in the crash. Beth Frits, a spokesperson for the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, confirmed that AM (born Adam Goldstein) and Barker were transported to a hospital in Columbia, following the crash. They were transferred AM by helicopter and Barker by ambulance to the Still Center soon after. She told CNN that both men had “extensive burns.” Douglas said two passengers who were later confirmed to be AM and Barker escaped the aircraft while it was on the ground, while the other two passengers and crew members died in the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed these details during a press conference, which was held shortly after 11:30 a.m. A 10-member team from the NTSB, along with investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is on the scene, trying to determine what caused the crash. At 10:40, Setree confirmed that Barker’s assistant, Chris “Little Chris” Baker, also died in the crash. He was 29, and lived in Studio City, California. TMZ.com is reporting that Baker, who appeared on MTV’s reality show “Meet the Barkers,” was newly married, and that his wife recently gave birth.
Just after 10 a.m. Saturday, Setree identified two of the crash victims: the plane’s pilot, Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim, California, and her co-pilot, James Bland, who was 52 and lived in Carlsbad, California. The crash took place just before midnight on Friday and involved a twin-engine private Learjet with six passengers onboard, according to Lynne Douglas, public information officer for the Columbia Metro Airport.
Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen described the post-crash fire as “significant.” An eye witness told NBC news affiliate WIS that he saw a fireball crossing the road near the airport and then realized it was a plane. He saw jet fuel shoot out across the roadway and then saw two men, who were both on fire, patting each other down to extinguish the flames. Farrell’s manager, Peter Katsis, confirmed that Farrell was not on the plane. While taking off, the plane, which never left the ground, overran the runway, struck an antenna array and several lights, and began sending up sparks. It skidded off the end of the runway, through a perimeter fence separating the airfield from a nearby roadway, and then crossed the roadway, coming to a stop on an embankment.
According to CNN, representatives for Farrell and DeGraw told the AP Saturday that the two performers were not aboard the plane. Check back at EW.com for more details as they develop. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, two other passengers and two crew members were killed when the private jet crashed on takeoff in Columbia, South Carolina. Barker and Goldstein were admitted to the Joseph Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, on Saturday, where they are being treated for extensive burns. According to an Associated Press report, Barker and Goldstein played a free concert together as TRVSDJ-AM in Columbia on Friday night; other performers included Perry Farrell and Gavin DeGraw.
CNN reports the deceased were identified by Lexington County Coroner Harry O. Harman as pilot Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim Hills, Calif.; co-pilot James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, Calif.; Chris Baker, 29, of Studio City, Calif.; and Charles Still, 25, of Los Angeles. A report on MTV.com identified Baker as Barker’s assistant, and noted he had appeared on the network’s reality show Meet the Barkers. Barker and Goldstein had performed together under the name TRVSDJ-AM at a free concert in Columbia on Friday night. “It’s absolutely terrible and tragic,” Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said. Barker and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, were in critical condition at a burn center in Augusta, Georgia, about 75 miles southwest of Columbia, hospital spokeswoman Beth Frits said.
After Blink-182 disbanded in 2005, Barker went on to form the rock band +4 He also starred in the MTV reality series “Meet the Barkers” with former Miss USA Shanna Moakler, to whom he was married at the time. Barker, 32, was one of the more colorful members of the multiplatinum-selling punk rock band Blink-182, whose biggest album was 1999’s CD “Enema of the State,” which sold more than five million copies in the United States alone.
Officials said the plane carrying six people was departing shortly before midnight Friday when air traffic controllers reported seeing sparks. Review the worst air disasters in the past four decades, see how safety officials investigate plane crashes and more.
The nose of the aircraft was gone and the roof was missing from two-thirds of the charred plane. “It’s absolutely terrible and tragic,” Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said. The plane hurtled off the end of a runway and crashed through antennas and a fence. It came to rest on an embankment across a five-lane highway and was engulfed in flames, said Debbie Hersman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board.
After Blink-182 disbanded in 2005, Barker went on to form the rock band (+44) - pronounced “plus forty-four.” He also starred in the MTV reality series”Meet the Barkers”with former Miss USA Shanna Moakler, to whom he was married at the time. Baker was an assistant to Barker and Still was a security guard for the musician.
The show, which included performances by former Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell and singer Gavin DeGraw, drew 10,000 people into the streets of Five Points, the neighborhood near the University of South Carolina, Coble said. Peter Kastis, Farrell’s manager, said he and Farrell didn’t find out about the crash until they arrived at the airport Saturday morning to find it closed. “I just hugged them hello less than 24 hours ago. I wish I could hug them now,” Kastis said. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site. Barker and Goldstein had performed together under the name TRVSDJ-AM at a free concert in Columbia on Friday night. Event sponsor T-Mobile said their hour-long set ended at about 7:15 p.m. Barker and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, were in critical condition at a burn center in Augusta, Ga., about 75 miles southwest of Columbia, hospital spokeswoman Beth Frits said.
Baker was an assistant to Barker and Still was a security guard for the musician. The plane was headed for Van Nuys, Calif. It is owned by Global Exec Aviation, a California-based charter company, and was certified to operate last year, Hersman said. After Blink-182 disbanded in 2005, Barker went on to form the rock band (+44)”pronounced “plus forty-four.” He also starred in the MTV reality series “Meet the Barkers” with former Miss USA Shanna Moakler, to whom he was married at the time. Barker, 32, was one of the more colorful members of the multiplatinum-selling punk rock band Blink-182, whose biggest album was 1999″s CD “Enema of the State,” which sold more than five million copies in the United States alone.
The plane hurtled off the end of a runway and crashed through antennas and a fence. It came to rest on an embankment across a five-lane highway and was engulfed in flames, said Debbie Hersman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board. Officials said the plane carrying six people was departing shortly before midnight Friday when air traffic controllers reporting seeing sparks.
At the crash site Saturday, the air was still heavy with the odor of jet fuel.
Barker had performed Friday night with Perry Farrell, Gavin DeGraw and DJ AM. It has not been confirmed if Farrell and DeGraw were also traveling on the same jet. Travis was taken by ambulance to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, GA and is in critical but stable condition.
A FAA spokesperson said the plane carrying six people attempted to take off shortly before midnight Friday from Columbia, South Carolina when people in the tower report seeing sparks. They said the plane went off the runway and crashed on a highway embankment, catching fire.
