Sep 22, 2008 5:44 pm US/Pacific
New Details Emerge In Deadly Rock Star Plane Crash
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
National Transportation Safety Board investigators said Sunday a blown-out tire may have prompted the South Carolina plane crash that killed four people and injured two musicians.
NTSB spokeswoman Debbie Hersman told a news conference at Columbia, S.C. that a cockpit recording "captured a sound consistent with a tire blowing out," according to The State newspaper of Columbia.
The cockpit crew also reported a tire blowout to the air traffic controller, she said. Pilot Sarah Lemmon, 32, of Anaheim Hills, and co-pilot James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, were both killed.
Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and deejay Adam Goldstein, both Southern Californians, were the only survivors from the runway crash that killed four people. They remained hospitalized Sunday in critical condition with severe burns.
Barker, 32, and Goldstein, who's professionally known as DJ AM, are being treated at the Joseph Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga. Barker reportedly was burned mostly on his lower body, while Goldstein, 35, suffered severe burns to his face.
Barker's ex-wife Shanna Moakler went to Augusta to be with the father of her two children.
Barker and Goldstein, who had just performed for a University of South Carolina crowd, were returning to the Los Angeles area, because the wife of Barker's assistant, Chris "Lil' Chris" Baker, was in labor and about to give birth.
But the chartered Learjet never made it off the ground. It went through a fence at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, across a highway and burst into flames.
Also killed were Baker, 29, of Studio City; Barker's security guard, Charles "Shea" Still, 25, of Riverside.
Air traffic controllers reported seeing sparks as the twin-engine jet bound for Van Nuys Airport went off the end of the runway.
Barker appeared on MTV's "Meet the Barkers" with his ex-wife -- a former Miss USA -- as did Baker.
The Fontana native also co-owns Wahoo's Fish Taco in Norco, and he founded the Famous Stars and Straps clothing company based in Corona, according to the Press-Enterprise. Barker used to own a Famous Stars and Straps store on Magnolia Avenue at Van Buren Boulevard in Riverside, the Press-Enterprise reported.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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