12/8/2009

in

Travis Barker settles in confidential agreement over plane crash that left four dead in 2008.

Robyn Chelsea-Seifert

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A settlement has been reached in the case brought on by Former Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker against several companies linked to the 2008 plane crash that left four people dead.  
  
Barker and DJ AM, whose real name was Adam Goldstein, were critically injured when their six passenger plane taxied the Columbia, South Carolina airport following a show in the Five Points area.  
  
The Sept. 19 crash took place when the plane overshot the runway, broke through the fence, skidded onto a nearby embankment where it caught fire immediately. Two passengers, later confirmed to be Travis and AM, escaped the aircraft, were seen on the roadway, both on fire, patting each other down to extinguish the flames. Four remaining passengers, the pilot, co-pilot, Barker's assistant and Barker's security guard, died.  
  
The suit was brought against Learjet, Goodyear, Tire & Rubber Co., as well as the plane's owners and contractors over a year ago by Barker claiming the companies improperly operated and maintained the plane that overran the runway and caught fire.  
  
Barker's attorney, Walter Lack, confirmed there was a settlement but gave no other comment. Although terms remain confidential an investigation conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board discovered information in favor of the prosecution. The private plane was found to have improperly positioned thrust reversers - a device on the back of the engine that divert their thrust forward and help slow a plane or force it backward. One of NTSB's recommendations was to redesign the thrust reversing system making it more intuitive to avert future accidents.  
  
At the time of the accident, the pilot was trying to abort take off.  
  
Both Barker and AM suffered extensive second and third degree burns to their bodies, Barker mostly sustaining burns from the waist down, while AM suffered facial burns. Barker's lawsuit was filed with the mother of his bodyguard, Charles Monroe Still Jr., who was killed in the crash. Her case has also been settled.  
  
DJ AM was found dead in his apartment Aug. 28. A medical examiner's report showed a lethal mix of prescription drugs and cocaine in his system.