On September 19, 2008, a Learjet 60 carrying Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM rejected its takeoff at Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina, ran off the runway and caught fire. Four people died; Barker and DJ AM survived with serious injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) attributed the crash to severely underinflated tires and a rejected takeoff after V1, while also identifying design, certification, training and crew-coordination factors.
What happened at Columbia Metropolitan Airport
At about 11:53 p.m. EDT on September 19, 2008, Bombardier Learjet Model 60 N999LJ was taking off from runway 11 for a nonscheduled passenger flight to Van Nuys, California. The aircraft was owned by Inter Travel and Services and operated by Global Exec Aviation. The NTSB’s final report describes the accident sequence and investigation in Aircraft Accident Report AAR-10/02, adopted April 6, 2010.
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During the takeoff roll, all four main-landing-gear tires failed. The captain rejected the takeoff after V1, the speed at which the takeoff should ordinarily continue if an engine fails, and the jet could not stop within the remaining runway. It overran the runway safety area, struck airport lighting and navigation equipment, crossed the perimeter fence and a five-lane road, then hit an embankment and caught fire. The NTSB records debris from all four main tires on the runway.
The NTSB docket DCA08MA098 identifies the accident as occurring in Columbia, South Carolina. The final report—not early news coverage—is the primary account for the investigated sequence and the Board’s findings.
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Who died and who survived
Four people aboard the aircraft died and two passengers were seriously injured. The NTSB report records those casualty totals; contemporary Associated Press coverage identified the two survivors as Barker and DJ AM, whose given name was Adam Goldstein. AP reported that both had serious burns. The October 8, 2008 AP report published by CBS News also covered Barker’s early recovery.
The crash account should not be reduced to a story of one pilot decision. The rejected takeoff was part of the NTSB’s probable-cause determination, but the Board also cited maintenance and several contributing design, certification, training and crew factors.
What the NTSB said caused the crash
The NTSB determined that the probable cause was Global Exec Aviation’s inadequate tire maintenance, which led to multiple tire failures during the takeoff roll because the tires were severely underinflated, and the captain’s rejected takeoff after V1, contrary to her training and standard operating procedures.
The Board listed these contributing factors:
- Deficiencies in the Learjet 60 thrust-reverser system’s design and FAA certification.
- Inadequate safety analysis and review.
- Inadequate industry training standards for tire-failure scenarios.
- Poor crew resource management.
That finding matters: a tire failure at high speed presented the crew with an emergency, but the report’s explanation also reaches back to maintenance, aircraft-system design and certification, training, and coordination in the cockpit. The NTSB’s report discusses tire-pressure checks, pressure loss, tire-pressure monitoring systems, flight-crew training and thrust-reverser design. Its recommendations are recommendations in the 2010 report; they should not be treated as proof that a particular rule was later adopted.
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What he said in 2008
In an October 2008 interview with Us Weekly, quoted by AP, Barker said, “I hate planes,” and described the crash as his greatest fear coming true. He said he was grateful to be alive. The contemporaneous report described his burn treatment and his hope of recovering enough to drum and hold his children.
What he recalled years later
In an August 2026 AP interview, Barker said he spent six months in a burn center, underwent 30 surgeries and suffered burns over 70 percent of his body. Those are Barker’s retrospective statements as reported by AP, separate from the NTSB’s accident findings. AP also reported that he later returned to flying. “I almost died,” he said.
Speaking about flying now, Barker told AP: “I fly all the time now and I feel turbulence and I can’t even tell you what’s going on in my head. And I just look over and my wife’s perfectly OK.” His account describes his personal experience; it does not change the technical conclusions in the accident report.
Quick Recap
Sources for following the story
- NTSB Aircraft Accident Report AAR-10/02: the investigation, accident sequence, probable cause and recommendations.
- NTSB docket DCA08MA098: official accident docket and public-release metadata.
- AP via CBS News, October 8, 2008: Barker’s early public comments and recovery.
- AP’s August 10, 2026 interview with Barker: his later account of burn treatment and flying. AP also identifies his 2015 memoir, Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums, and the documentary Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear.
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