Travis Barker has revealed that his daughter Alabama had a premonition before his 2008 plane crash.
The Blink-182 drummer has recalled what the 20-year-old said before he left the house to fly from Los Angeles to South Carolina for a performance with his collaborator Adam ‘DJ AM’ Goldstein in September 2008.
During an appearance on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, the 50-year-old musician shared that Albama, who was 3 or 4 at the time, had a bad feeling about his flight.
“When I leave and I say bye to ‘Bama, she also calls it,” he said. “She’s like, ‘Dad, don’t go!’ She’s bawling, and she doesn’t usually do that. She’s like, ‘The roof’s gonna come off, the roof’s gonna come off!’ and I’m like, ‘What is she talking about?’ To the point where I went back in the house and I was like, ‘What’s going on, baby?'”
After performing with DJ AM in South Carolina, Barker and his team were supposed to fly home the following morning. However, they were in a rush to return to LA and booked a private jet “super last minute” to fly that night.
The All the Small Things hitmaker, who always had a fear of flying, had an “awful feeling” when he saw the “really small” plane and called his father upset. His father assured him he’d be OK, and he got on the plane.
“I was like, ‘Something feels off.’ I even told my dad, ‘If something happens to me, please make sure the kids are taken care of.’ I was saying way too much. All the signs were there,” he continued. “Now older me would just say, ‘I think I’m not gonna get on the plane.'”
The jet experienced tyre failure during takeoff, crashed through the airport boundary fence, crossed a highway and landed on an embankment before catching fire.
Barker and DJ AM, the only survivors, managed to get out of the aircraft before it burst into flames. Both pilots, as well as Barker’s assistant Chris ‘Lil Chris’ Baker and his bodyguard Charles ‘Che’ died. DJ AM later died of a drug overdose the following year.
Seventy per cent of the drummer’s body was burned and he spent six months in a burn centre undergoing skin grafts.
Barker discusses the tragedy in his new documentary film, Louder Than Fear, which premieres on Hulu/Disney+ on 13 August.
