Blink-182 Drummer Travis Barker Claims Daughter Predicted Plane Crash That Almost Took His Life, Describes Horror Crash

Travis Barker, drummer for the band Blink-182, had third-degree burns covering 60 percent of his body following a horrifying plane crash in 2008 that left four of the six people on the plane dead. Barker revealed that on the fateful morning of the plane crash, his then 3-year-old daughter, Alabama, warned him about the crash noting, “the roof’s gonna come off.” Barker went on to say that his ex-wife, Shanna Moakler, was also supposed to be on the plane, in the seat that bodyguard Che Still was sitting in but she backed out at the last minute because she was worried about the children being alone. Barker described his daughter’s premonition and how he survived the crash in his new book, Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums.

Travis Barker’s latest book, Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums is a memoir that focuses on the horrifying plane crash that claimed the life of his bodyguard and personal assistant along with his traumatic road to recovery. The story describes how music and fatherhood became his rock in his life and how he ultimately overcame the adversity.

As the Daily Mail notes, the book also describes a particularly interesting experience in which Barker claims his daughter, Alabama, had warned him of the plane crash beforehand. He notes that although Alabama was just 3-years-old at the time of the accident, she had frantically warned him before the plane crash that “the roof’s gonna come off.” He says that even before Alabama’s plane crash premonition, he was already feeling uneasy about the ride. In fact, it was a last minute decision for his ex-wife Shanna Moakler to remain home with the children, as she had previously planned to take the trip. Instead, Barker’s bodyguard Che Still would take her place and ultimately die in the tragic plane crash.

“[She] just kept saying, ‘The roof’s gonna come off, Dad, the roof’s gonna come off.'”

The NY Post reports that Travis Barker had a a fear of flying for quite some time. In fact, the Blink-182 drummer was known for medicating himself heavily before taking a flight as a means to overcome the fears. His fears were so bad that band members Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge would often make fun of him for his seemingly unreasonable fear of flight. However, in 2008, Barker learned that his fears were not unfounded when the private Learjet carrying six passengers was involved in a horrorifying crash. The crash left four people dead and Barker with burns over 60 percent of his body.

Barker said that the September 19, 2008, flight felt doomed from the start. The drummer explained that despite taking his pre-flight medication, Xanax in particular, he was still feeling uneasy. He said that he felt there was something off with the flight and called his dad to say “something just doesn’t feel right.” Shortly after the call to his dad, the plane took off but only made it into the air for a brief 60 seconds before the pilots attempted to abort takeoff due to a blown tire. However, the plane wouldn’t make the landing and crashed through a fence and into an embankment where it burst into flames.

Barker said he thought he was “going to die for sure.” However, as the plane burst into flames, Barker reached over and shook his DJ friend Adam Goldstein awake and attempted to reach forward to his bodyguard and personal assistant in front of him. As he reached forward his hand caught on fire and he kicked out the emergency exit door. As he hopped out of the plane and onto the jet’s wing, Barker inadvertently covered himself in jet fuel and burst into flames. He said he ran as fast as he could to get away from the plane while he stripped off all of his clothes. However, the fire would not go out. Fortunately, Goldstein was running behind him and was able to pat the fire out. Just 60 seconds after the pair made it out of the plane and ran to safety, the jet exploded and the two lay on the ground next to one another as Barker asked, “Are we alive?”

Barker required numerous surgeries and skin grafts following the plane crash, saying that at many times after the crash he wanted to take his own life. However, Barker said it was his children and music that kept him going. Sadly, the other plane survivor, Adam Goldstein, was unable to cope with life after the plane crash and died from a drug overdose the following year.

After Goldstein’s death, Barker was the only survivor.

He has stopped taking pills and medication of any kind, and also said he has yet to step foot on an airplane again. Barker says the paranoia is still there and he has a Google Alert on his phone set to notify him about any plane that crashes. He says that although he isn’t flying, he has a psychological need to know when they happen. Even though his Blink-182 bandmates still fly to venues, he takes his own tour bus instead. When the band needs to go to Europe, he takes the Queen Mary II ocean liner, which is a seven day journey.

What do you think about Travis Barker’s harrowing tale of surviving the 2008 plane crash?

[Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Hyde]