9/20/2008

Travis Barker and DJ AM Critically Injured In Plane Crash

If you saw the recently aired MTV VMA's then you saw these two as the house band that night. Musical collaborators Travis Barker and DJ AM are in critical condition in a burn unit in Augusta, GA, after the Learjet they were aboard crashed during takeoff late Friday in Columbia, South Carolina. Four other people on board the plane, including the pilot, co-pilot and two other passengers, died in the crash.

The four victims in the crash have been identified as Charles Still, 25; Chris Baker, 29; Sarah Lemmon, 31; and James Bland, 52, according to MSNBC.

A spokeperson for the hospital told reporters that Travis and DJ AM are in "critical but stable condition." Barker was taken by ambulance, while Goldstein was airlifted to the burn center, according to MSNBC.

The crash happened at 11:53 PM local time, when the plane overran the runway on takeoff, went through a fence, over a road and into an embankment, according to information from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Air traffic controllers reported seeing sparks after the jet overran the runway.

Barker and Goldstein had been performing at a concert in Columbia, with fellow musicians Perry Farrell and Gavin DeGraw, but those two weren't on the plane. Lemmon and Bland were reportedly the pilots of the jet, while Baker was reportedly Barker’s assistant, according to MTV.com.

The plane was headed for Van Nuys, Calif., according to the NTSB.

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