Feds Blame Travis Barker-DJ AM Learjet Crash on Low Tire Pressure

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Feds Blame Travis Barker-DJ AM Learjet Crash on Low Tire Pressure

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U.S. federal safety investigators said today that the September 19, 2008 Learjet crash with blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM on board can be attributed to underinflated tires.

The investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that charter flight and business jet operators often don’t check tire pressure enough and aren’t aware of how rapidly it can deflate.

They warned that low tire pressure could be widespread on business jets and that more frequent checks could prevent accidents like this one, which killed the pilot and co-pilot, as well as Barker’s assistant and his security guard.

Travis Barker Plane Crash Preventable

If the tires had been properly inflated, the NTSB believes the crash may have never occurred.

The Learjet 60 was heading to Los Angeles, California around midnight following a concert by the duo in a side project called TRV$DJAM. All 4 tires exploded and takeoff was aborted by the pilot, who had only logged 35 hours of flight time on that model of Learjet.

The plane went off the runway around 150 mph and across the 5-lane South Carolina Highway 302 before hitting an embankment. Barker and DJ AM—real name Adam Goldstein—survived with severe burns, but Goldstein later died in August when he accidentally overdosed on pain medication he was prescribed after the crash.

The tires were reportedly checked 21 days prior to the flight, but the NTSB said the Learjet 60 tires lose 2% of their inflation per day and that they should be refilled every 8 days.

Other Factors in Travis Barker Plane Crash

The NTSB also said the accident was also partially caused by a flaw in the design of the Learjet 60 that led to the captain’s decision to abort takeoff from Columbia, South Carolina.

They found that the Federal Aviation Administration and Learjet Inc. hadn’t fixed an error with the model’s thrust reversers, even after the flaw was blamed on a 2001 accident in Alabama that seriously injured 2 people.

When the tires exploded, pieces of rubber damaged the plane’s hydraulic system—which controls the brakes—and also hit an electronic sensor.

The sensor related to the on-board computer that the plane was in the air, automatically preventing the thrust reversers from opening, which would have helped slow down the plane.