Travis Barker, DJ AM Expected To Make Full Recoveries After Plane Crash

It was a miracle former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and celebrity disc jockey DJ AM even survived Friday night's plane crash that killed four others, and their doctor believes they should able to make full recoveries.

The two were the only survivors of the late-night Learjet crash in South Carolina, and although they were badly burned in the crash and suffered second-and third-degree burns, the doctor says they were fortunate to not suffer any other injuries.

"Anybody who can survive a plane crash is pretty lucky," Dr. Fred Mullins of the Joseph M. Still Burn Center told reporters at a news conference. Mullins said Barker was burned on his torso and lower body while DJ AM, whose real name is Adam Goldstein, was burned on part of his head and his hands. Both men are still in critical but stable condition.

The Learjet crashed after taking off from an airport in Columbia, where the two had just performed a free concert for thousands of college students. Federal officials have said that they believe the pilot thought a tire on the plane blew as they started down the runway.

National Transportation Safety Board's Debbie Hersman says the conversation between the pilot and air traffic controllers was captured on the voice recorder that was recovered from the wreckage and that is what led them to the early conclusion, although the crash is being investigated. The plane crashed through a fence and shot over a highway before stopping.

One witness said he was driving his delivery van when a fireball moved across the highway and he then saw the two survivors rushing to remove their burning clothes. Unfortunately, even though Goldstein told him that four other people were on board, the flames were too intense to get anywhere close to the plane.

September 22, 2008 |