Travis Barker shares how he overcame fear of flying after deadly plane crash

Jade Biggs
·2 min read
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Back in 2008, Travis Barker survived a deadly plane crash, and he's still feeling the impact almost two decades on.

To recap, the Blink-182 drummer and his friend Adam Goldstein were the only two survivors of the crash, which happened shortly after takeoff from an airport in South Carolina. "The plane's on fire and my hands are on fire so I unbuckle my seat belt and I jump right into the jet, which holds all the fuel," he later recalled. "I basically ignited my whole body in fire. I'm so soaked in jet fuel, there's nothing I can do to put the fire out."

Travis suffered third-degree burns on over half of his body, and spent 11 weeks in hospital after the accident, undergoing 27 surgeries. He went on to develop severe survivor's guilt and PTSD, and suffered with a fear of flying that left him unable to step foot on a plane for the next 13 years.

travis barker reveals how he overcame fear of flying
John Shearer - Getty Images

But now, the musician has opened up about how he conquered the fear, revealing that the support of his wife, Kourtney Kardashian, got him through. "She’s been everywhere beautiful in the world… [places] that I’ve never even heard of," Travis told GQ this month. "I was like, 'If you ever want me to fly with you, just tell me 8 to 10 hours before'."

Travis went on to explain that, when the day came for him to travel with Kourtney, fear took hold of him and he "was trying to get out of it". Thankfully, his reality TV star wife saw through this. "She’s like, 'I’m gonna spend the night with you. I’m staying the night with you and we’re gonna go to the airport'," he recalled. "She just knew, and she stuck by me and toughed it out. And it was the best flight. And I wasn’t scared once."

For information, support and advice about mental health – including PTSD – and where to get support, visit Mind’s website at www.mind.org.uk or call Mind’s Infoline on 0300 123 3393 (Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 6.00pm).


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