Travis Barker Sues Over Plane Crash

11/24/08 1:51pm

Travis Barker filed lawsuits as fast as he drums on Friday in connection with the injuries he sustained in a Sept. 19 plane crash.

The former (and maybe future?) Blink-182 drummer sued: Canadian aerospace company Bombardier Inc., which manufactured the doomed Learjet in which he was a passenger; charter company Global Exec Aviation, which owned the plane; Clay Lacy Aviation and Inter Travel And Services Inc., the companies involved in brokering the charter flight; and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, which made the plane's tires.

Barker's lawsuit claims the companies failed to properly operate and maintain the Learjet that overshot a runway at the airport in Columbia, S.C. and ignited. The pilot, co-pilot and two of Barker's friends who worked for him were killed in the crash, while Barker and DJ AM (real name Adam Goldstein) sustained second- and third-degree burns.

"I wouldn't have been in the state I was in if I wasn't in the crash," Barker told E! News after he filed the lawsuit. "I wouldn't have third-degree burns all over my body or be prohibited to do certain things.

"I can't go swimming. I can't do some of the things that normal people do. I didn't ask for that to happen."

Barker is suing for damages for pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of earnings, and medical and legal expenses. The mother of deceased bodyguard Charles "Che" Still is suing the companies for damages including grief and sorrow, funeral expenses and loss of earnings.

The suit maintains that the Learjet was "defective" and the two deceased pilots were improperly trained and shouldn't have attempted to abort the takeoff.

Goodyear spokesman Ed Markey isued a statement that said it was "unfortunate" the suit was filed before the National Transportation Safety Board's investigation was completed.

"While the tires may have been involved, it is too early to speculate on a cause," said Markey. "The performance of the tire is dependent on how the tire was used, if it was properly maintained and whether it was damaged before the accident."

Cockpit recordings indicated the jet's crew thought a tire had blown during takeoff. NTSB officials have said pieces of tire were recovered about 2,800 feet from where the plane started its takeoff down the 8,600-foot runway.

"Its landing gear, tires, wheels, brakes, reverse-thrust system, squat switches and component parts were not airworthy," said an excerpt from the lawsuit, according to TMZ. "One or more of the tires failed, leaving tire debris and portions of airplane components along the 8,600-foot runway."

Here's Barker talking about why he filed his lawsuit: