Travis Barker has credited ‘the power of love’ from wife Kourtney Kardashian for helping him overcome his fear of flying since surviving a deadly plane crash in 2008.
The Blink-182 drummer, 47, who is expecting his first child with Kardashian, 44, next month, said his partner had ‘healed’ him and his children following the crash in South Carolina 15 years ago in which he was one of only two survivors.
Speaking to the LA Times, he said: ‘I think the power of love really helped me. Kourt made it so I fly, my kids fly now. She healed us.
‘It takes a little piece of my life every time I fly. The amount of stress and anxiety it causes is just unbearable. It brings up all this old trauma, and sometimes I’m like, ‘Is this worth it?’ But I don’t like anything having a hold on me, either — I don’t like being afraid, and I don’t like having things from my past control my future.’
The star said he believed he would never fly again after accompanying his daughter Alabama, 17, on an aviation field trip and seeing her run off a plane crying.
Soulmates: Travis Barker has credited ‘the power of love’ from wife Kourtney Kardashian for helping him overcome his fear of flying since surviving a deadly plane crash in 2008
Terrifying: Barker was on a plane in South Carolina with his assistant, bodyguard and friend Adam ‘DJ AM’ Goldstein when a tire blew during takeoff; seen in 2008
Barker detailed his pre-flight ritual, he will never book his own flights, and will always call Kardashian, his father and his children.
He shares Alabama and Landon, 20, with ex wife Shanna Moakler, he is stepfather to Shanna’s daughter Atiana de la Hoya, 24.
He also puts on noise-canceling headphones so he ‘cannot hear the landing gear retract’, listens to guided recordings from an energy healer and prays for loved ones he has lost.
In August 2021 Barker successfully took his first ride on an airplane for the first time in 13 years when he jetted to Cabo San Lucas with Kardashian.
The plane crash happened on September 19, 2008 – Travis boarded a private jet in South Carolina to head back to Los Angeles following a show, while accompanied by his friend Adam ‘DJ AM’ Goldstein, his security guard Charles ‘Che’ Still, and his assistant Chris Baker.
As the small plane was attempting to take off, one of its tires suffered a blow out, causing the craft to overshoot the runway, burst through the airport’s fence and over the nearby highway, and finally crash into the embankment on the side of the road.
The pilot, Sarah Lemmon, and the co-pilot, James Bland, were killed within minutes from smoke inhalation and burns as the plane erupted into flames on impact, according to the Chicago Tribune . Still and Baker were also killed on impact.
Family: He said: ‘I think the power of love really helped me. Kourt made it so I fly, my kids fly now. She healed us’ He shares Alabama and Landon, 20, (pictured June 2022) with ex wife Shanna Moakler and is stepdad to Atiana de la Hoya, 24
Travis and Adam were able to escape from the burning plane via an emergency exit over the wing, but both were engulfed in flames as they slid down the wing and got covered in burning jet fuel.
The drummer had third-degree burns over 65 percent of his body and had to spend three months in the hospital while having skin grafts and 26 surgeries to repair the damage.
A year after the accident fellow survivor Adam died of a prescription drug overdose
In a May 2021 interview with Men’s Health, he shared that the crash helped motivate him to stop abusing prescription drugs.
‘People are always like, “Did you go to rehab?” he recounted. ‘And I [say], “No, I was in a plane crash.” That was my rehab. Lose three of your friends and almost die? That was my wake-up call. If I wasn’t in a crash, I would have probably never quit.’
After the crash, Travis was overcome with a debilitating fear even at the sight of an airplane.
Any day now: Barker and Kardashian are expecting a son due in November
‘I was dark… I couldn’t walk down the street. If I saw a plane [in the sky], I was determined it was going to crash, and I just didn’t want to see it,’ he said, adding that he was ‘haunted’ by the experience of ‘being burned’ and ‘trying to grab my friends from a burning plane.’
But he also struck a more hopeful not now that nearly 13 years have passed since the crash.
‘Now it’s been so many years, it’s getting easier for me. There are days where I’ll wake up and never think about it,’ he said.