Inside the Deadly Plane Crash That Travis Barker and Adam ‘DJ AM’ Goldstein Narrowly Survived

On Sept. 19, 2008, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and his friend Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein played a concert near the University of South Carolina. Even though Barker was afraid of small planes, they took a private jet to fly back to Los Angeles.

That night, about 11:30 p.m., Barker, Goldstein, Barker’s assistant Chris “Lil Chris” Baker, his bodyguard Charles “Che” Still, pilot Sarah Lemmon and co-pilot James Bland boarded a twin-engine Learjet. The plane was cleared for takeoff at 11:53 p.m.

As the jet sped down the runway, people on the ground and air-traffic controllers saw sparks near the wheels. Airport technician Nate Bozeman told PEOPLE he first thought a tire had blown. The plane didn’t stop. The cockpit voice recorder showed Lemmon tried to abort the takeoff, but the jet went through airport antennae and a fence, crossed a five-lane road, and finally crashed on an embankment about 100 feet from the runway’s end. Bozeman said the plane exploded after it disappeared from view.

Lemmon, 31, Bland, 52, Baker, 29, and Still, 25, were killed. Barker, 32, and Goldstein, 35, survived. Local resident William Owens, 60, saw them a few feet from the wreckage and told PEOPLE he watched two men beating flames off their bodies. Lt. Josh Shumpert, who arrived at the scene, said Barker and Goldstein told him they slid down the wing of the plane and were in shock.

Goldstein had burns on his scalp and was airlifted to a hospital. Barker had burns on his torso and lower body and went by ambulance because he didn’t want to fly again. Both men had skin-graft surgery on Sept. 21 and were reported in critical but stable condition. Dr. Fred Mullins, the medical center’s director, said a full recovery was expected.

They spent weeks in the hospital getting skin grafts and treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. Physically they healed over time, but the emotional pain was deep—especially for Barker, who lost two close friends in the crash.

Four weeks after the crash, Goldstein spoke to PEOPLE. He had spent four days in a burn center in Augusta, Ga., then went to Los Angeles for two more skin-graft surgeries on his neck and left arm. He told reporters he felt lucky to be alive and described what happened:

He said he had taken his shoes off and fallen asleep on the runway. The next thing he remembered was crashing. He woke to Barker screaming and the plane on fire. Goldstein remembered thinking they had to get out before the gas tank exploded. Barker opened a door and slid down a burning wing. Goldstein said he jumped through a fireball and recalled thinking, “stop, drop and roll.” He rolled on the ground to put out the flames.

Goldstein described seeing Barker on fire and trying to help him. Barker screamed, “What do I do!” Goldstein told him to roll, and when that didn’t work he smothered the flames with his own body. He burned his fingers taking Barker’s burning sock off. In the ambulance, Goldstein said the heat they used to prevent hypothermia made his pain worse. Still, he felt he would be okay and believed he had survived for a reason. He said he prayed every night and wanted to live life fully.

Not long after returning to work on Jay-Z’s tour, Goldstein didn’t fly privately again. He said his emotions swung between relief and confusion—he was thankful to be alive but still haunted by the loss of his friends. He hoped his survival could help others and said he put his future in God’s hands.

Only weeks before the crash’s anniversary, Goldstein was found dead in his New York City apartment on Aug. 28, 2009. He had been using drugs and prescription pills. After his death, friends and experts wondered whether the trauma and PTSD from the crash helped cause his relapse. Addiction specialist Dr. David Sack noted that reliving trauma can increase drug cravings. Friends said Goldstein had been in pain from the accident but was happy to be alive and always searching for peace.

After the crash, Barker could not bear flying. Years later, love helped him face that fear. In 2021, he told NYLON that after he began dating Kourtney Kardashian, he agreed to fly with her because she wanted to travel together. He said their relationship gave him strength and hope and that being with her made him feel almost invincible. By 2024, he wrote that he had taken about 30 flights with his wife and had toured again with Blink-182 after the band reunited in 2022. He also said he still disliked flying and associated it with death, but he was determined to live his life and keep playing music.