Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, 32, and DJ AM, 35, were critically injured in a private plane crash in Columbia, SC Friday night.
The two had just performed a free concert at a T-Mobile-sponsored show in Columbia’s Five Points area. The crash occurred just after midnight when the private plane, a Lear jet, attempted to take off from the Columbia Metro Airport.
According to air traffic controllers, the plane, which never left the ground, was seen shooting sparks. It skidded off the end of the runway, crashed through a fence, and crossed a roadway before ending up in a ditch where it burst into flames.
Witnesses say two men – Barker and AM – both on fire, were seen escaping the plane. Once outside, the two men patted each other down to extinguish the flames. Three men and a woman were confirmed dead inside the plane.
Lexington County Deputy Coroner Brian Setree, speaking to MTV news, confirmed the dead as Barker’s assistant, Chris “Little Chris” Baker, 29, Barker’s security guard, Charles Still, 25, the plane’s pilot, Sarah Lemmon, 31, and her co-pilot, James Bland, 52. They were all California residents.
Barker and AM, real name Adam Goldstein, were transferred — AM by helicopter and Barker by ambulance — to the Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia where both men are listed in critical condition with “extensive burns.”
Burn injuries are classified in degrees with the most severe being third degree burns. Depending upon the percentage (size) of the burn area, extensive third degree burns can result in death from fluid loss and shock.
A burn victim’s chance of survival is greatly increased if he is transferred immediately to a hospital that specializes in burns such as a burn center.
