In September 2008, Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker survived a horrific plane crash that claimed the lives of four passengers, including his best friends Chris Baker (assistant) and Che Still (security guard). The 37-year-old rocker suffered second and third degree burns in the crash which eventually healed but the impact from the incident has left him scarred for life.
Travis has admitted that he’s too afraid to fly. As a matter of fact, he hasn’t flown again since the accident. Recently, he took an ocean liner all the way to the UK just so that he could take part in Blink 182’s European tour.
He was reportedly set to join band members Mark Hoppus and Tom Delonge on their Australian tour too but it appears that his phobia was too much to bear even though he initially contemplated getting knocked out and getting on a plane to Australia. He even considered traveling by Australian carrier Qantas Airways, which never had a crash or fatality.
Travis Barker released a statement via his Facebook page which said:
I’m sorry to announce I won’t be joining Blink-182 on this Australian tour. I still haven’t gotten over the horrific events that took place the last time I flew when my plane crashed and 4 people were killed, two being my best friends. I gave the band my blessing to take another drummer if they still wanted to do the tour without me. I hope to come to Australia again someday perhaps by ship if need be. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a boat that worked with the schedule this time around. Once again I’m sorry to all the fans.
Aww. Even slimmer chance of him ever coming to Malaysia then?
Sources: Huffington Post, Contact Music.
