The scary news of Travis Barker and DJ AM’s plane crash
Friday night in South Carolina
is now followed by optimistic reports from their treating physicians, who say
complete recovery is to be looked forward to.
Former Blink 182 member Travis Barker, 32, and celebrity
disc jockey Adam Goldstein, 35, were the only survivors Friday night of a
tragic airplane crash.
The two had attended earlier that day a free college event
in Columbia,
together with former Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell and singer Gavin
DeGraw. They boarded a Learjet 60 at Columbia
Metropolitan Airport
in South Carolina, headed for Van Nuys, California.
Shortly after takeoff, past midnight, the plane crashed,
killing the four other persons onboard – two pilots and two members of Barker’s
crew.
The victims have been identified as pilot Sarah Lemmon, 31,
of Anaheim Hills, Calif.;
co-pilot James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, Calif.; security guard Charles Still, 25, of Los Angeles; and Barker’s assistant Chris Baker, 29, also
of Los Angeles, by South
Carolina’s Lexington
County coroner, Harry
Harman, and deputy coroner Brian Setree.
Barker and Goldstein both suffered second- and third-degree
burns. They were transported to a nearby burn center in Georgia, the Joseph M. Still Burn Center
at Doctors’ Hospital in Augusta.
Saturday, the two were listed in critical but stable
condition, a spokesperson for the center told People magazine. Medical staff
had a more optimistic report Sunday though.
Dr. Fred Mullins, medical director of the burn center, told
People that the two men are expected to make full recoveries, perhaps even
sooner that the 12 months it usually takes a patient to recover from such
burns.
“Since both Barker and Goldstein are in overall good health
and didn’t suffer from any other crash-related complications, a full recovery
is expected,” Mullins declared.
Mullins offered further details, explaining that Barker
suffered burns on his torso and lower body, while Goldstein was burned on his
arms and a portion of his head. Both are in critical but stable condition, he
concluded.
Officials are currently investigating the accident and a
first lead they appear to have concerns a possible tire blowout.
Debbie Hersman, board member of the National Transportation
Safety Board in Washington,
D.C., has told the media that the
cockpit voice recorder, which has been recovered, suggests that a tire blowout
caused the crash.
The pilot received clearance from Air Traffic Control and began
the take-off, only to apparently try to abort the ascension. Air traffic
controllers reported seeing sparks coming from the plane as it tried to
take-off.
The Learjet left the end of the runway and ultimately
crashed a quarter of a mile away, engulfed in flames.
Travis Barker is famous for playing drums in rock band Blink
182, who broke up in 2005, as well as for starring in MTV reality series “Meet
the Barkers,” with then-wife Shanna Moakler, former Miss USA. He and Goldstein,
who goes by the name DJ AM professionally, perform together under the name
TRVSDJ-AM.