Musician and media personality Travis Barker was once one of two survivors of a deadly plane crash. Years later, he recently opened up about the impact the tragedy left on him over the years. He also discussed another loss that highlighted the strain over what happened.
Travis Barker & Collaborator Adam ‘DJ AM’ Goldstein Survived A Plane Crash In 2008
Barker is a musician and music producer. He is known to many as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He also starred in an MTV reality series based around his family titled Meet the Barkers.
In his personal life, Barker has been married to Kourtney Kardashian since 2022. Thanks to this, he frequently appears on The Kardashians. In 2023, it was announced that the couple’s first child, a son, was born. In addition, the two also have children from previous relationships.
Back in 2008, Barker and his friend and collaborator Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein were involved in a plane crash. The tragic incident claimed the lives of four people at the time: Barker’s assistant Chris “Lil Chris” Baker, his bodyguard Charles “Che” Still, the pilot, Sarah Lemmon, and co-pilot James Bland.
While they both sustained injuries, Barker and Goldstein were the only survivors of the tragedy. However, Goldstein passed away the following year at the age of 36.
Recently, Barker opened up to People about dealing with survivor’s guilt from the crash nearly 20 years later. As the outlet noted, the situation was compared to Final Destination, a film franchise in which characters survive a horrific accident, only to all immediately die in strange accidents, as if targeted by Death itself.
Barker Also Discussed What Ultimately Helped Him ‘Push’ Things ‘Forward’
According to Barker, Goldstein’s death especially sparked things getting hard for him. He shared, “I would go from my tour bus to the hotel, and no one would see me. I would just hide out; I was so afraid.” He continued, “I was just waiting for impact in the bus; I was just like, ‘Oh, I’m next. I’m going to go anytime.’”
Thinking of Goldstein, Barker shared, “You’re never ready for that. You’re never ready for one of your best friends to pass away, especially someone who just survived a plane crash with me.” He added that “the further I got away from almost dying, things got a little bit easier.”
However, looking back, Barker believes his loved ones would want him to live and move on. He shared, “Those things help me push forward.”
This comes out as Barker’s upcoming documentary Louder Than Fear, which also discusses the crash, premieres on August 13, 2026. The doc is available for streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.