X17 News

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board say a blown tire may have lead to the crash of a Learjet that critically injured DJ AM and Travis Barker, according to CNN.

The Learjet 60 crashed late Friday night in Columbia, South Carolina killing 4 people.
NTSB member Debbie Hersman says the doomed flight's cockpit voice recorder indicates the crew believed a tire blew and tried to abort the takeoff.

"The crew reacted to a sound that was consistent with a tire blowout," Hersman said.

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and celebrity disc jockey DJ AM remained in critical but stable condition. Doctors say they expected them to fully recover.

Barker's assistant and his body guard, as well as the plane's pilot and co-pilot were killed when it shot off the end of the runway, tore through a fence and crossed a highway. It came to rest on an embankment a quarter-mile from the end of the runway, engulfed in flames.

NTSB investigators say they want to speak with Barker and Goldstein to hear what they witnessed during the crash and how they survived. Rescuers say they discovered the musicians near the fiery wreck as they frantically tried to douse their burning clothes.

Hersman said officials will give the men more time to recuperate. "They're the ones that are going to be able to give us the best firsthand knowledge," she said.

Dr. Fred Mullins, medical director of the Joseph M. Still Burn Center, said the two suffered second- and third-degree burns but had no other injuries from the crash and are in overall good health.

"Anybody who can survive a plane crash is pretty lucky," Mullins told reporters during a news conference Sunday morning.

Barker was burned on his torso and lower body and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, was burned on an arm and a portion of his scalp, according to a statement from the musicians' families.

Barker and DJ AM, who performed together under the name TRVSDJ-AM, were in South Carolina for a free performance with Gavin DeGraw and Perry Farrell.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Less than a week after surving a tragic plane crash, DJ AM has been released from the hospital, US Magazine is reporting.

"While he is deeply saddened by the events he is thankful for all of the love and support he has been receiving from fans and friends world wide," a spokesperson for DJ AM said. "We ask that you continue respect his privacy as he rests and heals and mourns the loss of his friends."

Earlier today, record producer Jermaine Dupri said that he thought drummer Travis Barker, who also survived the crash, could be out of the hospital in two weeks.

DJ AM and Travis Barker are the only two survivor of a private plane crash this weekend that investigators believe may have been caused by a blown-out tire.

Four people were killed in the crash, including Barker's assistant and bodyguard as well as the two pilots aboard.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - After a little more than a week recovering, Travis Barker has been released from the Joseph M. Still Burn Center, according to a hospital spokesperson

"Travis is in good condition and was discharged this morning," Beth Frits said in a statement from the hospital.

Now, Life and Style magazine is reporting that Barker and his ex-wife Shanna Moakler are returning to Los Angeles on a private bus.

"Travis is desperate to get back home to be near his kids," an insider tells Life & Style.

"He and Shanna got a luxury bus with all the medical help he needs."

Travis will be taken to the Grossman Burn Center in Santa Ana, Calif., for further treatment and additional surgery.

LOS ANGELES,California (X17online) -The Grossman Burn Center, where Travis Barker is being treated for burns sustained in a tragic plane crash says it doesn't believe negative statements that imply the musician is unhappy with his care are accurate.

But in an email to X17online, a spokesman for the hospital says they cannot comment further because of laws regarding patient privacy. The spokesperson suggested the magazine "double check it's sources."

Life&Style Magazine quotes a friend of Travis' ex-wife Shanna Moakler as saying Barker, "...felt he had to wait too long for pain medications after his surgery last week and that he hasn’t been receiving quick enough access to doctors. They're looking into moving him elsewhere, but I'm not sure they will. It's a very emotional time."

Attempts to reach Barker for comment were unsucessful.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Travis Barker was released from the Grossman Burn Center on Friday, exactly four weeks after surviving a plane crash that killed 4 people.

Barker was treated for second-and third-degree burns he suffered in the Sept. 19 crash in South Carolina. Four people were killed in the accident.

Barker was initially treated at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga., but was transferred to the Grossman center at Sherman Oaks Hospital on Sept. 29. The Grossman Burn Center is known internationally as one of the most innovative and successful burn centers in the world.

Barker will continue treatment at home for his burns, but is expected to make a full recovery, according to doctors.

"Barker appreciates the loyal support of his fans and the media but respectfully requests privacy through the balance of his healing process," according to a statement released by Interscope Records.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - The tires of the Learjet carrying DJ AM and Travis Barker shredded as the plane struggled to take off, according to federal aviation officials.

The crash killed four people and left DJ AM and Travis Barker seriously injured.

Wednesday, the National Transportation and Safety Board said that very little rubber was left on the jet's wheels and the brakes were severely damaged when the plane crashed on takeoff in September.

The plane's cockpit voice recorder reveals that crew members believed a tire blew as that sped down the runway. The pilots apparently tried unsuccessfully to abort the takeoff.

LOS ANGELES California (X17online) - The cockpit voice recordings from the learjet crash that injured drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM have been released by the Federal Aviation Administration.

In the recordings, the pilot tells air traffic controllers the plane is "going off the end" of the runway.

"Roll the equipment, we're going off the end," co-pilot James Bland says on the recordings, released Tuesday.

The pilots words are the last recorded before the accident that killed the pilot and 3 others on September 19th.

Controllers at the Columbia, S.C., airport can also be heard on the recordings working to divert other planes and calling for emergency personnel after the jet ran off the runway, ripped through a fence and came to rest in flames

Aviation officials have said cockpit recordings showed the jet's crew thought a tire had blown before takeoff, but those sounds were not in the files released Tuesday.

National Transportation Safety Board officials have said pieces of tire were recovered about 2,800 feet from where the plane started its takeoff down the 8,600-foot runway.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Travis Barker and DJ AM will perform together for the first time since the pair survived a fiery plane crash in South Carolina.

The former Blink-182 drummer and DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, will headline New Year's Nation's Los Angeles New Year's Eve Party at The Lot in West Hollywood, California.

The performance will be streamed on the Internet and broadcast at other New Year's Nation parties across the U.S.

It will mark the first concert for the pair since they performed at a free concert for about 10,000 people in Columbia, South Carolina, before boarding a private plane September 19 for Los Angeles that crashed and killed four people.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - The wife of Travis Barker's assistant is suing several aviation companies and the estates of two pilots over the crash that killed her husband earlier this year in South Carolina.

Otilia Villar Baker, wife of Chris Baker, filed the suit in Los Angeles Superior court, alleging negligence and wrongful death. The lawsuit was also filed on behalf of the Bakers' young son, Sebastian.

The suit claims the companies contributed to the Sept. 19 crash that also killed the two pilots and Barker's bodyguard. Barker and Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, were severely injured.

The suit seeks damages for pain and anguish Barker's long-time assistant suffered before his death, loss of earnings, companionship, repayment of funeral and other costs.

Travis Barker sued the same companies, which include Clay Lacy Aviation, Goodyear Tire and Rubber, Bombardier Inc., Global Exec Aviation and Inter Travel & Services, last month.