Everyone who has ever suffered from addiction and beaten it has almost always had a profound wake-up call. There’s a moment in our lives where we don’t want to struggle with the things that slowly kill us. For Travis Barker, that moment happened after he nearly died in a fatal plane crash in 2008. The incident caused four people to pass away, while the iconic drummer and Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein survived with intense burns.

Admittedly, the plane crash kept him horrified from flying again for 13 years. But his near-death experience did help him realize he “never wanted to touch a drug again.” In an interview with the Associated Press, Travis Barker recalled his intense nerves about flying. Consequently, he found drugs were the only efficient way to calm him down. Additionally, he admitted that being away from his kids also screwed with his nervous system.

“I have no clue where that even comes from except for flying when I was a kid and I was with my mom and I saw her terrified,” Barker told the publication. “I don’t know if that really had an effect on me or what it was. But my drug use started from first being able to get on planes because they scared me so much. Then to not only being afraid of flying, but I had to leave my children for long periods of time to go on tour.”

Travis Barker Candidly Opens up About His Drug Addiction and Fear of Flying

Then, the drug habit became a full-blown addiction. It wasn’t until he had to endure dozens of surgeries and was placed on morphine that he realized he never wanted to be so low again.

“Instead of ever going to rehab or quitting, I got into a plane accident where I nearly lost everything and I was in a burn center for six months on morphine and I had 30 surgeries,” Travis Barker added. “70 percent of my body was burnt and I never wanted to touch a drug again in my life. So, I don’t know if that didn’t happen to me if I would still be using drugs in some way, shape, or form. But that was my wake-up call. That was my rehab.”

The aftermath was particularly difficult for Travis Barker. DJ AM was the only one he felt like he could confide in for a long time. However, once he died from a drug overdose, he vowed to never fly again. It wasn’t until his wife, Kourtney Kardashian, finally convinced the Blink-182 legend to try again. Nowadays, flights and turbulence don’t bother him anymore.

(Photo by Gary Gershoff/WireImage)

The post Travis Barker Recalls the Horrific Incident That Made Him Quit Drugs for Good appeared first on VICE.

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker developed a crippling fear of flying after he was involved in a plane crash in September 2008. He’d flown to South Carolina from L.A. to perform with DJ AM, aka Adam Goldstein. But according to Barker, as he was leaving his house, his three-year-old daughter Alabama could not be consoled.

“She’s like, ‘Dad, don’t go!’ She’s bawling, and she doesn’t usually do that,” Barker said during an August 2026 appearance on Jay Shetty’s podcast On Purpose. “She’s like, ‘The roof’s gonna come off, the roof’s gonna come off!’ and I’m like, ‘What is she talking about?’ To the point where I went back in the house and I was like, ‘What’s going on, baby?'”

Even at three years old, Alabama sensed something was wrong, said Barker. Later, when he was preparing for a last-minute flight back to L.A. on a small private plane, he sensed it too.

“I was like, ‘Something feels off.’ I even told my dad, ‘If something happens to me, please make sure the kids are taken care of,'” Barker admitted. “I was saying way too much. All the signs were there.”

He added, “Now older me would just say, ‘I think I’m not gonna get on the plane.'”

Travis Barker Recalls Near-Fatal Plane Crash in Upcoming Documentary

Travis Barker did get on the plane in 2008, however. During takeoff, a tire burst, and the debris damaged the plane’s brake system. This caused the plane to skid off the end of the runway and break through the airport barrier fence. It crossed South Carolina Hwy 302 before crashing into an embankment. Then it caught fire. Barker and Goldstein were the only survivors.

The two pilots were killed, along with Barker’s assistant Chris Baker and his bodyguard Charles Still. It took almost an hour for firefighters to get the flames under control. Both Goldstein and Barker suffered severe burns and had to have skin grafts. Goldstein emerged on fire, but quickly extinguished the flames with stop, drop, and roll.

Barker recalled running and ripping his clothes off in an attempt to extinguish himself at first. Eventually, stop, drop, and roll put out most of the flames. But he was left burned over 65 percent of his body. He recovered in the hospital for 11 weeks, but also developed PTSD from the incident and a debilitating fear of flying. Barker didn’t get on a plane again until 2021.

Photo by Christopher Polk/WWD via Getty Images

The post This Pop-Punk Drummer’s 3-Year-Old Daughter Had a ‘Premonition’ Before His Near-Fatal Plane Crash appeared first on VICE.